Save Mart sacks unionised workers

Written By: - Date published: 8:55 am, September 16th, 2017 - 52 comments
Categories: boycott, health and safety, Unions, workers' rights - Tags: ,

RNZ have been covering a story this week about an Auckland branch of nationwide secondhand clothing business Save Mart. The story started midweek with descriptions of work conditions,

Save Mart workers told Checkpoint last night they had to sift through clothing bins containing soiled nappies, broken glass, dead animals and used sanitary items.

They said they were forbidden from wearing gloves and were threatened with dismissal when they questioned the working conditions.

Following Checkpoint‘s story last night, several other workers contacted RNZ to complain about working in buildings with inadequate heating and leaking roofs, as well as being prevented from taking personal bags into work due to theft fears.

They said blood and faeces-stained clothing was not an unusual sight when sorting through the clothes.

WorkSafe became involved,

WorkSafe spokesperson Jo Pugh said if that was true, it was almost certainly a breach of health and safety laws.

“What you’re talking about in terms of the provision of PPE or gloves, that’s a known control for minimising many different kinds of risks. So if the case is as described, it really seems a no-brainer for the company to provide gloves to minimise what sounds like real serious risk to workers.”

Ms Pugh said WorkSafe staff have been asked to look into conditions at Save Mart’s New Lynn branch, in order to get a “clearer picture”.

Then on Friday RNZ reported that staff at the branch who were also union workers were first segregated from other staff, and then told they were being made redundant with 4 weeks notice,

Union workers who complained about unsafe conditions at Save Mart stores have been made redundant, soon after John Campbell was invited to the New Lynn store to see the operation for himself.

First Union organiser Graham McKean told Checkpoint that while investigators were at the New Lynn store today, the 10 union members at the store were given four weeks notice of redundancy.

“We’ve got a whole bunch of union members – and they’re all women – who have commitments, children, some of them are solo mothers and they’re distraught and don’t know where to turn. We now have to navigate through that.”

Mr McKean said he could not comment on whether non-union staff had also lost their jobs.

Earlier, Save Mart owner Tom Doonan allowed Checkpoint to talk to staff at the New Lynn store, but after being promised free reign to talk to staff, RNZ was prevented from speaking to union staff.

RNZ’s main report is here,

This interview with a previous employee describes both unsafe working conditions but also an authoritarian culture of punishment and degradation for workers and even unsafety for customers while the business was making large amounts of money. RNZ says that this is typical of around 20 workers they’ve talked to thought out NZ.

It’s worth remembering that Save Mart gets donations of clothing but is a business not a charity. Feel free to stop shopping there, and also to stop donating. Might be worth looking at the various sources of where they get their clothing from and see if can be directed to organisations who deal with their staff legally and well. The connections with legitimate charities also needs looking at – who is getting paid and how much?

Not much else to say apart from I hope the law, government, public and social media go hard on this and that Save Mart learn how to both follow employment law and treat their workers as valued human beings. And rock star economy, my arse. This is what happens when the government endorses bad behaviour from the people with power in society.

Social media are already telling how it is,

https://twitter.com/carol_stirling/status/908581191707648001

https://twitter.com/cupoteacoast/status/908596848092262400

https://twitter.com/Styla73/status/908620219895119872

https://twitter.com/DaveOfTheNui/status/908628253400633344

https://twitter.com/DaveOfTheNui/status/908628863030149120

 

52 comments on “Save Mart sacks unionised workers ”

  1. Brendan 1

    Stop shopping there. Plenty of other great second hand stores in Auckland. I like the Clothing Collective in Birkenhead.

  2. Ad 2

    I prefer Tattys Ponsonby Road and High Street.

  3. halfcrown 3

    Why not go to the Hospice shops, Sally Army, or the Red Cross. All good outfits with the money going to good causes.

  4. Nic the NZer 4

    Bill Black discusses the links between Labour Unions, Wage Gains and Productivity Gains.
    http://neweconomicperspectives.org/2017/09/low-rate-unionization-us-consequence-deregulation.html

  5. lurgee 5

    This is going to buried – even round here – in a blizzard of election coverage. Almost as if it was intended to be like that.

    It’s massively corrupt – unsafe working conditions, misleading ‘charity’ campaigning and now probably illegally firing union members.

    They mustn’t be allowed to get away with it.

    Bigger story than the election, in some ways. That’s just about how one bunch of corrupt liars is arguing with another bunch of corrupt liars about which set of promises get to be broken. This story is about real people losing their jobs because their employers are wicked crooks.

    • Muttonbird 5.1

      Surprised you didn’t blame Labour. You manage to squeeze in the ‘they’re all the same’ line though.

    • weka 5.2

      Who are the second bunch of corrupt liars? RNZ? The union? Worksafe?

      • lurgee 5.2.1

        I meant National and Labour. I’m very cynical about politicians.

        • weka 5.2.1.1

          Ah, sorry, I see you were talking about the election not the Save Mart issue.

          • greywarshark 5.2.1.1.1

            I think that the Save Mart issue relates to the political one, also lurgee.
            And the example of people being treated in an authoritarian, unreasonable and unfair manner is important and results from the political system introduced by the RW and rampant here, that oppresses workers.

            And there is another aspect that I will mention here. The high prices for gifted items that most major charity entities charge. They are high for the poor people that the charities are supposed to be serving. Halfcrown refers to the Hospice, Sally Army and the Red Cross. All charge more than a poor people can afford to pay. They set up as a commercial entity, and employ managers and staff to run the not-for-profit business along with volunteers who do the back-room work.

            I had a look at a Sally Army shop the other day which was packed with stuff and they complain that they have to dump too much. But they don’t try hard enough to raise the money by increasing the volume of sales through selling at a lower price. The fact that everyone not at high earning levels has suffered a decline in wages over the years, with rises not matching even low CPI inflation, and far behind the housing inflation much of which is outside CPI inclusion. The Sally Army would say that they need to raise money for their programs for the poor. Yet the unhappy truth is that the poor, through their purchases, are largely funding the programs for themselves or those a bit lower on the ladder than themselves. The Red Cross shop I have seen has had $50 on a mohair womens top, and that might be justified, but do they have more ordinary woolen tops for $2? They bring second hand stylish clothes over from their Oz side. So they aren’t a real poverty-directed charity and neither is Hospice which is more like a second-hand shop.

            A different method would help. After the first rush to pick out the best of the new clothes each change of season produces, a month later the shops could start a buy one, the rest half price approach. This would enable the hard-up to get clothes for the present season when they wanted them. At present they get put out at reduced rates when the season has advanced halfway. This would shift a lot of stuff and if they also held workshops
            where customers could attend with access to needles, spare buttons, matching thread, elastic etc and sew up things that would be useful to them for size, purpose and colour, the charities would reduce their landfill dump and help people in a practical way, and create a lot of friendship and goodwill. But charities tend not to do this, they push the stuff out, follow a rigid commercial system, and are not as useful and kind to the poor as they should be.

            Unfortunately they price things on a ‘We can get so many $s for this’ and ‘They can afford to pay $s for that’ and often base the affordability on their own comfortable though not wealthy, income. I suggest that ordinary basic adult clothes should be under $2 and crockery and warm baby clothes 50 cents and under. Nicer stuff could be an extra $1. Looking at the Sallies the other day, a tidy cloth doll $4 – should be $2 max, an xl man’s zip fleece jacket at the end of the winter season was $8. Someone would be able to wear that as the demand tails off, and they should be bringing it down to say $4 as it was a nice one. $2 if it was covered in fluff.

            Often volunteer sorter workers would take clothes home for washing if they were useful and could be improved to be nice for sale and further use. But I am concerned that new health and safety rules will make this difficult. Another problem for the poor and charities is the growth in control and administration agencies that are contracted by the government to run this or that, and they sit in their offices and work out some purist, rigid system that bears no relation to what is needed, and just enables them to tick their boxes and indicate they have fulfilled the rote of requirements handed out by half-dead departmental keyboard tappers trying to achieve their own ‘targets’ and their mindless politician bosses.

            There are a few helping agencies that give things away freely, but people would be lucky to access one close enough and most could need transport. And there is always the need to be working or ready for work or some such rigid rule that covers everyone. The fact that you spend time accessing clothing for all your kids and get more valuable give-aways and good sewing help than by scraping by on some skeleton wage for half a day to buy half the equivalent from a charity if you can get to it in opening hours, doesn’t count to a mindless automaton run by the SocWelt Dept.

            Unfortunately under the neolib economic system everything is a business. Charities are popping up, new ones every day, to sell and provide things that government used to do for citizens as part of a modern, developed country that had fair distribution methods. All then received benefit from being a wanted part of the country and the gains of running a modern economy.

            But that concept has been abandoned by the RW who want to extract more out of the economy for themselves and exclude many NZs from decent paid jobs, constantly holding wages down and pushing up vulnerable immigrant numbers who totter on the edge of being rejected and forced back in greater poverty than before to their own country, after making costly contracts which will bind them their whole life long. Disgraceful treatment done by government in NZs name, grinding poor people from foreign countries, and hurting poor NZs forced out of their birthright place as included citizens able to make a life here.

            • Incognito 5.2.1.1.1.1

              Unfortunately under the neolib economic system everything is a business.

              Indeed, and the same is true for charities; even when they’re not run to be profitable they’re still run as businesses. They need to (re)cover costs and any real profits need to be handed out or end up in admin & running costs (‘overheads’). Trusts are no different. Some are worse and some are better than others, of course.

              All problems have a market solution (and it variant: the market knows best).

              One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Producers/sellers claim they deliver highest value for money and customers/buyers want the best value for money. You see the problem with this when it comes to donated and/or second-hand clothes or any market transaction for that matter?

              My Utopian dream is that we act more altruistically and cooperatively (cf. Monbiot) and try not to extract maximum financial profit but instead try to maximise social profit, i.e. what is beneficial to the whole/many rather than to the individual/few. In this context the word “profit” will have a different meaning that goes back to its roots.

              • greywarshark

                Incognito
                +1
                My point I think jells down to the idea that they are acting as businesses, and presenting themselves as charitable businesses, but not trawling through business models for ideas. As a social businesses they can look to maximise the good to the customers while still covering their costs and make the money they need for helping programs.

                And they might gee up the returns if they used the method of initiating more buying that I suggested. It is interesting how regularly the fully commercial model that Briscoes runs under has specials and sales to keep targeted things moving. And they are doing well yet this approach does not agree with a long-held belief that sales cheapen the store image.

                • Incognito

                  I agree that turnover is important for (good) business; volume can balance low(er) margins on individual items. Even selling items below cost can make (business) sense if the customer is (more) likely to also buy other items and/or come back another time. Stock that doesn’t move presents an opportunity cost taking the place of stuff that might sell better. I also agree that a sale does not necessarily equate to inferior quality; only when it is too good to be true.

            • Gabby 5.2.1.1.1.2

              If they set the prices too low, other dealers raid them. I guess they balance lost sales with higher prices to maximise revenue that can be spent charitably.

              • greywarshark

                Gabby
                But that is not their object. That’s confusing competitive business with a socially conscious charitable business. The charity knows how much it needs to make for its purposes, and makes sure that they are provided for.

                If some other group wants to come and strip them out and sell their stock at the flea market, they will notice and can put up a sign stating that this is not acceptable and refuse to allow them to fill cartons or sacks with their stock. Other shops say that they will not be used as a warehouse by other business.

                But if people buy some things and sell them at the market, then they are showing entrepreneurship. There isn’t quick money on-selling just any secondhand goods so there would be a lot of time spent standing around and they have to meet the site fee. There is no point in a charity that is overloaded with goods especially clothes, and china, being curmudgeonly about someone on-selling. Give people a chance to get on and earn some extra money for themselves. NZ never seems to have accepted the spirit of initiative and wanting to do better. Who do these people are who want to work so hard for so little seems to be the negative attitude.

                The point is to make sure that the charity makes a suitable excess, enough to pay for vehicle maintenance, manager and part-time employees salaries and the various social enterprise programs they run, and these costs should not be inflated by expensive siting and inflated salaries and unnecessary costs.

                Except for one cost, and that should be an annual get together with some nice food in a pleasant surrounding for the volunteers to show them gratitude and some awhi for their kind work and loyalty. Pamper them a wee bit, just being thanked is a little short of what they deserve and would appreciate.

            • Whispering Kate 5.2.1.1.1.3

              I remember once being in a Hospice Shop and my daughter commented to the shop manager that the clothing was much dearer than the Red Cross and the lady told us “we are not selling for charity, we are fundraising for Hospice”. They do not accept benefit stamps and will move those customers on to charity shops which do accept them. I recommend that people go to K Mart or the Warehouse, they will find clothing far cheaper than the charity shops these days.

              Hospice is a high end second hand shop, never in a month of Sundays are they are a charity shop.

  6. DoublePlusGood 6

    Well, that has to be the easiest WorkSafe prosecution ever.

    • Pat 6.1

      if they determine it falls within their remit….which is by no means certain on past form.

      • DoublePlusGood 6.1.1

        Well, that’s true – they didn’t prosecute IRD when they had plenty of cause to, for instance.

    • lurgee 6.2

      You’d think, would’t you?

      But I suspect the psychopaths running the company have had some sort of semi-competent advice, rather than just acting on impulse. And their pockets are deep and time is on their side; they can countenance protracted litigation. People living hand to mouth, suddenly having to find new jobs aren’t in that position.

      • weka 6.2.1

        I’m guessing they’re either very stupid, or they can afford to pay to keep the work culture the way that it is. Time will tell.

        Some good social media campaign esp re the source of the clothing would help.

        (side story is wtf? re people’s behaviour in the changing rooms and the stuff they are donating).

  7. Delia 7

    Sorry I ever gave them a bean in Dunedin, fortunately they are to far away from me to be bothered shopping there in Nelson

  8. Once was Tim 8

    But let’s just take a step back and consider this:
    In relation to migrant workers, the Labour Inspectorate is turning people away – despite various promises and campaigns over the years, and asking people to report with the promise something would be done.
    The reason being they’re only investigating ‘systemic exploitation’, (presumably related to various employment sectors – but then – who the fuck knows!. And the reason given is ‘resourcing issues’. (I could have told them they’d have a problem 8 years ago, but then I guess they were more concerned with re-equipping an old Defence Force with curved screens and ‘break-out rooms’)
    So …. given that, why should we expect any sort of proper investigation, let alone remedy into substandard employers breaching employment law or H&S issues.

    Seems to me, they’re setting themselves up for some serious claims against government departments and agencies in future

    • weka 8.1

      yes, the government is culpable here too and there needs to be improvements in how many government departments do their job. Just was well we’re about to have a change in who runs the country.

      • Once was Tim 8.1.1

        Ae!
        And when we do get change, let’s hope that change involves proper resourcing and depoliticisation of the administrative wing of government.

        • weka 8.1.1.1

          tbh, I think it’s going to be one of the bigger challenges for the incoming govt. So much of the public service has been fucked over in the past 9 years.

          • Once was Tim 8.1.1.1.1

            I think it’s probably THE biggest challenge. I’ve worked in the PS at various times over the years (for long periods) and noticed a chip chip chip incremental fucking over of it – especially under this current regime. At the risk of getting off topic in this thread – increasing corporatisation and installing commercial imperatives is part of the neolib mindset.
            You just have to look at the background/CVs of some of the appointments to Snr Management in certain Munstries/Depts, or check out Frank McS’s ‘Crony Watch’.

            There really needs to be a complete review of how appointments are made.

            But the same mindset has crept into some charities and NGOs – collections outsourced to external business – the clipping of the ticket. I’m not even sure if the annual donations made to various charities these days (supposedly directly) aren’t susceptible to the ‘clip’.

  9. ianmac 9

    The charities will be disturbed because they depend on the money from wherever it comes from. If they withdraw from Savemart where will their funds come from? Would the loss of big money be justified in order to stand up for the workers?

    A hard call. Meantime Tom Doonan and son, the owners of Savemart must be making huge money and no doubt getting a big tax rebate for big donations to charity.

  10. Gristle 10

    The commercialisation of charity is at a stage where the likes of Save Mart make a profit while cloaking themselves in the cloak of respectibity of child cancer philanthropy. RNZ reported that Save Mart’s contribution has been $50,000 over 3 years. Why do they even bother?

    Other charities rely on companies to seek donations from the public, and the company retains somewhere between 50-80% of the funds donated. I have been hit up by these people using high pressure sales techniques for Red Cross, Helicopter rescue, Starship et al. Why do they even bother?

    I now make donations to various charities by going directly to the charity to explicitly dismediate the commercial entity.

    • greywarshark 10.1

      Hey helicopter rescue tend to live hand to mouth. So don’t lump them in with other organisations that are responding to irregular emergencies, the helicopter exists to help with regular ones that nothing else can get to.

      • NZJester 10.1.1

        Read what they said again greywarshark, they are not bagging in the helicopter rescue service but on these commercial companies that are collecting money in their name but keeping 50% to 80% of the money raised and the charity gets what remains. If you give your money directly to the helicopter rescue service they will get all of your donation and if more people did that they would have a lot more funding to work with. 10% to 15% for all the work they put in I could understand and they would still be able to make a modest profit, but they are raking in profits for their directors and investors a lot of the time higher than what the charities receive from what is meant to be a donation to support the charity.

        • greywarshark 10.1.1.1

          NZJester
          That is true from what I have heard. These charity collectors keep so much. Why wouldn’t the services who are employing them not set up another fund raising model? If they joined with some others in the same league they could run their own fundraising out of their own premises with their own employee. (Not Joanne Harrison, Transport Authority or Tessa Grant, Casino and school accountant) then they can watch they don’t get a woman or man with champagne tastes, so well audited and taking regular holidays, and pay them a beer income with bonus for reasonable target efficiency.

          All this contracting out is just part of the lean machine idea based on there always being too much fat and therefore inefficiency. But being skinny isn’t the only way of ensuring efficiency and effectiveness.

  11. Nicki Douglas 11

    No more shopping at Savemaft for Me! Disgusting behaviour!

    • AsleepWhileWalking 11.1

      They used to be good until around 15 yrs ago. Now just a rip off in terms of price, the shitty worker treatment + minuscule contribution to charity seals their fate as far as I’m concerned.

  12. Tanz 12

    I never shop there now. High turn over in staff, and frankly, for second hand goods, very high prices, some worse then if new. It’s a cold, dank barn of a place, not very pleasant for the workers at all.

  13. Macro 13

    What a scam.
    Hopefully this will awaken people to the need to think more carefully wrt donations to “charitable organisations”
    Obviously some charities are more charitable than others.

  14. Macro 14

    Can’t for the life of me see why they are so reluctant to allow workers to wear gloves when sorting tho… I mean WTF! It’s not as if the cost of a few gloves is going to reduce the already meagre donation they make to Child Cancer – but I guess it will cut into the obviously huge profit the owners make for themselves by oooh maybe $1000 over the year. Heck that would mean they would have to cut short their trip to Fiji by a half a day.

    • weka 14.1

      Yeah, it’s hard to understand what is going on here. Looks more and more like the man who owns the business and/or whoever is setting the culture of the workplace is an utter fuckwit and simply likes things this way. Because it doesn’t make any sense from a business point of view.

  15. greywarshark 15

    Hi weka
    When you have time – I did a serious look at the commercial way that some of the main charities are acting and think this quite long one might be sitting in spam.

    • weka 15.1

      honestly, it would be really good if you could sort out the whole comments going into spam thing once and for all.

  16. cleangreen 16

    We need Unions to keep our Government honest and our working conditions /jobs safe and secure to work in.

    It is glaringly obvious that Savemart see the clouds appearing as the Labour government change is comming.

    So they are going to suffer worse after showing there callous manner to the workers now, “lest we foget” Savemart.

    • There’s no doubt whatsoever that workers wages and conditions have been declining for over 30 years. There’s also no doubt that it seems to have really accelerated under this National govt.

      There have been a whole series of punitive labour laws passed under this govt designed to empower employers even further than before , – and the only time that this govt backs down is when it is forced to .

      Like Pike River .

      And even that has been deliberately glossed over with and enabled with current conditions .

      If it was not for direct action , caregivers would not have been given a pay rise ,- and if it were not for the tireless campaign of Unite union , – zero hour contracts would still be the norm.

      The TRUTH of the matter is that the origins of all of this imbalance of power weighted towards employers can be found and blamed squarely on Ruth Richardson’s Employment Contracts Act 1991. That was the most pernicious , spiteful and destructive piece of legislation ever to have been advanced by the Business Roundtable / NZ Initiative using their political stooges Roger Douglas / Ruth Richardson .

      And if we really want to see change towards a more equitable society it would mean a dismantling of the Employment Relations Act combined with more legal powers given to Unions to advance collective agreements ,- and then backed by the government .

  17. mosa 17

    Save Mart is just another SLAVE MART when it comes to workers safety and conditions in this country.

    I will never frequent their stores ever again.

  18. Glenn 18

    I needed a blazer or sports coat for the rare wedding and gradually increasing amount of funerals. Wife and I spent a day checking out all the op shops including Save Mart and what did fit me was either not worth the price wanted or something that was absolutely unwearable unless it maybe was in a film set in the 50s.
    Checked the local Warehouse out the next day and found just what I needed at a reduced price, from China admittedly.

  19. UncookedSelachimorpha 19

    Love this workplace flexibility – more Delivering for New Zealand! Thanx National.

  20. AsleepWhileWalking 20

    Does anyone know if those clothing bins need resource consent?

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    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    Buzz from the Beehive Here’s hoping for a lively post-cabinet press conference when the PM and – perhaps – some of his ministers tell us what was discussed at their meeting today. Until then, Point of Order has precious little Beehive news to report after its latest monitoring of the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s final report card
    David Farrar writes –  We now have almost all 2023 data in, which has allowed me to update my annual table of how  went against its promises. This is basically their final report card. The promise The result Build 100,000 affordable homes over 10 ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • “Drunk Uncle at a Wedding”
    I’m a bit worried that I’ve started a previous newsletter with the words “just when you think they couldn’t get any worse…” Seems lately that I could begin pretty much every issue with that opening. Such is the nature of our coalition government that they seem to be outdoing each ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    1 day ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
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  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
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