Some consequences of Chloe Swarbrick’s win

Written By: - Date published: 9:49 am, October 22nd, 2020 - 41 comments
Categories: election 2020, greens, labour, uncategorized - Tags:

Chloe Swarbrick’s win is noteworthy. It’s notable that Helen White’s vote share pretty much didn’t change upwards despite the largest swing to Labour across the country we’ve seen in multiple decades.

The result will stand Helen White as the Hilary Clinton of New Zealand politics: how in hell was it possible for her to lose an absolute gift of a seat? How little vote share was gained for that candidate despite Nikki Kaye leaving with just weeks to go and a fresh candidate having to get slotted in?

Was Helen White’s campaign that bad? More likely Chloe’s was that good. Chloe Swarbrick’s attribution to the ‘ground game’ of her team was more powerful in Grey Lynn than that of Jacinda Ardern. That’s remarkable in 2020.

Maybe the reasonable list placing meant she knew she was going to get in anyway: Helen White was just too posh to push.

Well that’s the first consequence: complacency from the moderate left is powerful enough to even fully negate The Jacinda.

As the first win for the Greens in an electorate seat since Jeanette Fitzsimmons won Coromandel a couple of decades ago, there’s an illustration of the rise of the Grey Lynn Tribe as the most networked, most influential, most politically aware group in New Zealand. The centre of the Greens has shifted from the rural periphery to right in the heart of the city. That follows the trend of Melbourne and other major centres.

You can see that tribe at play in their local markets on Saturday, in the time they take to select bread, in the frission of networks connections between social media and mainstream tv and radio agents living and working in the area.

Consequence two: The Grey Lynn Tribe is real and its power is truly on the rise.

A freaking obvious conclusion is that young people can engage successfully with politics, and be successful. And to be more pointed: the Greens are pretty good at encouraging young people to be more than campaign helpmeets and grunts which is what Labour and National do. Young people can stand for politics and win.

Consequence three: Chloe Swarbrick is the new Jacinda Ardern. Not identical, sure. But rising fast.

So just to spell out the obvious: the Greens owe Chloe. If they hadn’t made 5% they would have owed their parliamentary existence to her.

They can have more longer term parliamentary assurance because of her performance.I thought Ardern was far too young to be leader in 2017. So with that 2017-2020 evidence, I’m more accepting of younger people that they really can perform and deliver on the national stage.
Someone had better get Chloe a Select Committee job at least, or her supporters in that Grey Lynn tribe will start beating the drum on both social and mainstream media: why not?

Consequence Four: Get this woman a job, or she will continue to rise and eat more of Labour’s left vote.

That left vote is mobile in central Auckland. The urban wealthy liberal voter was not scared off by talk of a wealth tax from the Greens. They wanted this candidate a lot. Chloe’s win party in Auckland’s waterfront was the place all the in-crowd will say they were at for the summer.

To me Chloe Swarbrick is the warning Labour needs to bring the Greens into the government. Because if they don’t, next in the crosshairs is Rongotai or Wellington Central. The left vote is mobile, not loyal to Labour, and looking for politicians who are charismatic and who they believe in and who connect with them.

What a win Chloe!

41 comments on “Some consequences of Chloe Swarbrick’s win ”

  1. Phillip ure 1

    Fully agree…playing the long game could well advantage the greens…so if ardern locks them out their support will only grow ..and ms swarbrick would be the touchstone for that unused-assets gripe….as I noted the other day the voters in grey lynn did not vote for Chloe to have her/the greens frozen out for the next three years…labour could well reap a whirlwind if they do that…and could we pause to give ms swarbrick her due for her sterling work on ending the decades long madness of cannabis prohibition..'cos even if the legalised referendum fails what we will have is a california-style de-facto legalisation..with prescriptions easily available…so prohibition is a dead duck..I have never met ms swarbrick…but I hope one day to be able to thank her in person..

    • froggleblocks 1.1

      playing the long game could well advantage the greens…so if ardern locks them out their support will only grow

      You act like that is a problem for Labour.

      Greens aren't going to deal with National. If Labour becomes a centrist party and the Greens can routinely poll in the 12-15% range, then we can see an endless Labour-Green government until 2040.

      That's not bad thing for Labour, or the Greens.

  2. Craig H 2

    Chloe had Select Committee jobs in the last Parliament so I can't see her not being on Select Committees this Parliament – do you mean as chair perhaps, or just on more of them?

  3. Devo 3

    Give her Peter Dunne's old job – Associate Minster of Health responsible for drugs, mental health, and suicide prevention

  4. Sanctuary 4

    There is a joke amongst us all on the left that National has a factory somewhere stamping out identikit candidates who look like variations of Chris Penk or Todd Muller. Well, if Labour had such a candidate factory one of those off the production line would be Helen White, slightly brittle, a bit entitled and "to posh to push" and not at all keen to get her hands dirty in the political trenches, preferring to hang around with the technocratic Captain Darlings in a nice house somewhere.

    I agree Chloe is a warning to Labour – Labour is quite partial to selecting soft left, liberal candidates who tick certain boxes and who often make excellent technocrats but wilt and make pratfalls at their actual job – being a politician. Chloe has impeccable liberal credentials that are just assumed with her generation and has shown herself to be an excellent politician who is not to proud to put on her apron and work the party shop front. That combined with some ambitious policies makes the perfect foil for a entitled generation x, liberal, establishment candidates.

  5. Andre 5

    Because if they don’t, next in the crosshairs is Rongotai or Wellington Central.

    Said like it's a bad thing. Three electorates in which the Greens are solid contenders would simply be another step in the evolution of the Greens as a permanent stable forceful presence in New Zealand politics. It would also remove any sneering false equivalence to ACT's reliance on a gifted electorate lifeboat for most election cycles.

    • woodart 5.1

      yes, greens having multiple electorate seats would be fantastic.possible with good local personalities.

  6. Peter 6

    Observers commented that to me that Helen White had the irredeemable common qualities of National candidates and weren't surprised she bit the dust.

  7. Stuart Munro 7

    To me Chloe Swarbrick is the warning Labour needs to bring the Greens into the government. Because if they don’t, next in the crosshairs is Rongotai or Wellington Central. The left vote is mobile, not loyal to Labour, and looking for politicians who are charismatic and who they believe in and who connect with them.

    I wonder if you are not mistaking opportunity for crisis. Chloe is a strong, smart, committed New Zealander, the kind of person who should be permitted to work constructively in the public interest as a matter of course in any democracy – not merely to defend the interests of a party that often cannot be bothered to do its job.

    • solkta 7.1

      Chloe is a strong, smart, committed Green. Your comment reads like nonsense.

      • Stuart Munro 7.1.1

        By all means explain to me why any elected MP who meets those criteria is not set to some constructive task.

        • solkta 7.1.1.1

          Effective opposition is a constructive task. Labour should be seriously concerned to have Chloe as an adversary.

          .

          • Stuart Munro 7.1.1.1.1

            Agreed – just that one might hope a Jacinda-led Labour would choose a less adversarial role – preparing for a constructive partnership in 2023.

  8. Sanctuary 8

    One other slightly tangential thought on all this.

    The thing about Covid is it shows (like the GFC) that a crisis doesn't – at first – favour political polarisation. New Zealanders were persuaded that Labour offered excellent credentials to manage the crisis – technocratic establishment competence and the authority of an excellent leader won them the election.

    Voters therefore re-coalesced in the centre, especially as the global and local right has utterly flubbed it's reaction to an actual disaster. Also it seems to me that the covid crisis has – unlike the GFC & neoliberal managerialism – reinforced the credibility and authority of experts, rather than diminishing it.

    Any attempt by Labour to normalise the post-covid world simply trying return to quasi-austerian neoliberalism via the shibboleths of an elite managerial class could easily turn to disaster, with disillusioned voters turning to charismatic rising starts like Swarbrick and the Greens, or fleeing to the newly radicalised and socially reactionary right of National and the new conservatives. Of course, under MMP the centre could hold on a bit longer in NZ than in other countries – think liberal Nats defecting to create a new party to prop up a centrist Labour rump, similar to the decayed Federal politics in Germany's MMP government – but that would only delay the inevitable.

    • Mack 8.1

      "technocratic establishment"

      "neoliberal managerialism"

      "quasi-austerian neoliberalism via the shlbboleths of an elite managerial class"

      "newly radicalised and socially reactionary right"

      Aahahahaha…I love reading your rhetoric. You must have got all As at university for Political Science. The academics have indoctrinated you well.

  9. Anker 9
    • Firstly Chloe victory is impressive and she is to be congratulated.
    • should Davison and Shaw do a deal with labour, there is a chance this could split the Greens.
    • i think it was Chloe who got the referendum on the going. If I am wrong I apologise for what I am about to say. If the no vote wins, this will put back the case to legalise cannabis years, if not decades. Just like the flag referendum it will die in a ditch. Chloe did an excellent job of lobbying for reform, but this is a good example of what happens if you don’t take people with you. The idea of reform should have been promoted by an outside group, like health professionals or scientists.
    • Anker-you have been listening too much to disgruntled and outdated ex-Greens like Sue Bradford.

      Nowhere on the horizon is there the slightest chance of the Greens splitting.

      They have a clear "brand" with their solid green and social policies (especially the WT) and they are successful, having just confounded the so-called experts by increasing their vote while being part of a coalition, despite having been targeted by Tova et all with manufactured scandals.

      Chloe was the icing on the top. (I drank a little too much IPA after that result became clear.)

      • anker 9.1.1

        BG the Greens splitting was my own idea, but I am just an interested political junkie and would never claim my views are right!

        I did wonder from the point of view of James and Marama looking to be keen to be in with Labour and further down the list are people with perhaps more radical approaches. but happy to be contradicted about this

        • Bearded Git 9.1.1.1

          Anker-a week is a long time in politics….

        • arkie 9.1.1.2

          Both the make-up of the list, and the decision following the outcome of post-election negotiations are determined by Green Party members, not by the MPs.

          • Phillip ure 9.1.1.2.1

            It is slightly more nuanced than that..as in I have never heard of the membership going against what the leaders/mp's want..so yes..it goes thru that process..but y'know..! ..what the mood is..is what rules..and this is how it should be…usually…but good to have that check and balance there..just in case of a manchurian candidate..eh..?

    • solkta 9.2

      It will not be up to Davidson and Shaw to do a deal with Labour, these things are managed by the party. The negotiation team and advisory team are made up of old time party members as well as MPs, and the support of at least 75% of branch delegates is required for any deal.

  10. Barfly 10

    AFAIK a hell of a lot of voters who party voted Labour chose Chloe as their electoral candidate – it seems likely to me that many if not most of those wanted a backstop in case the Greens didn't get the 5% threshold as they understand the long term importance of the Green Party as a long term ally to the Labour Party.

    • Marcus Morris 10.1

      Thanks Barfly. Having waded through comment after comment I was hoping someone would make this point. I have a very old friend who lives in Auckland Central who has voted Labour all his life. In conversation with him a month or so ago he expressed a genuine concern that the Greens would not make the 5% threshold and so would need an electoral seat to ensure that Labour had a support party. He was determined even then to give Chloe his vote. I suspect that many Auckland Labour voters voted the same way. That is not to say that Chloe is not a very worthy electorate representative.

    • Visubversa 10.2

      The Greens were wailing that they wanted a lifeline in case they did not get the 5%. They were prepared to bucket emotional blackmail all over progressive people in Auckland Central to vote for Chloe in case the Green party did not crack the 5%. Your "too posh to push" comment is sexist and disgusting when used against a woman who has been an employment lawyer for years, used to work in the Union movement and has been great for Labour in Auckland Central in the last 2 campaigns.

      • Marcus Morris 10.2.1

        Hey Visubversa, you make it sound as if I wrote the comment "too posh to push". I too was not happy with that comment. Cheers.

  11. Draco T Bastard 11

    Consequence Four: Get this woman a job, or she will continue to rise and eat more of Labour’s left vote.

    It's not Chloe. Sure, she helps, but the actual issue is the fact that the Baby Boomers are dying off:

    What will be the legacy of their 50-year dominance of NZ politics? Change agents for sure, but to what end? Parasitic, sociopathic or nation builders?

    They have two more elections to turn around a track record of malignant neglect.

    Basically, the young have realised that the Baby Boomers were all a bunch of selfish arseholes and are working to change the failed legacy that the Baby Boomers, whom Labour represent, have left.

  12. Tiger Mountain 12

    Ms Swarbrick’s beautiful win echos the legacy of Sandra Lee in old Auck. Central, and in the US, of AOC, Rashida Tlaib and other recent successful young woman Congressional rep campaigns in the Democrats for Justice orbit.

    And I agree with the esteemed Editor of The Daily Blog that the 2020 General Election signals a significant weakening of “born to rule” Tory boomers and Provincial farmers political influence.

  13. observer 13

    This is creative writing, not hard analysis. "Grey Lynn tribe"?

    If anyone is interested in solid stats, the details for each booth are here:

    Scroll down for the candidate votes in every booth (PDF).

    The home-owners in pricey inner suburbs of Auckland Central are not the main reason Chloe won (Emma Mellow got more votes in some big booths). Her supporters are the students and young apartment-dwellers paying rip-off rents, and more likely to be serving a coffee on minimum wage than sipping a soy latte. There's a reason her office is in K-Road.

    Also, this is meaningless …

    "If they hadn’t made 5% they would have owed their parliamentary existence to her."

    But they got well over 5%. If we knock one third off their party vote, then let's knock off some votes in Auckland Central too. Doesn't need to be a third, to let in Helen White. We can't just pretend the electorate is entirely isolated from the wider election.

    I could go on (Hillary Clinton? And Wellington Central? Because Grant = Helen?) but the whole thing is a head-shaker.

    • lprent 13.1

      I'm going to find some consistent time over the next three years to help to see just how soft that Green Auckland Central vote is.

      Should be more fun than helping out in Mt Albert.

      Like observer I'm seeing more of a vote from transient areas in the booths. Not to mention that the actual suburb 'Grey Lynn' has been in Mount Albert electorate since 2014 (?) – which makes Ad's primary thesis even more of a myth than reality. There wasn't a boundary change in 2020.

      https://www.parliament.nz/en/mps-and-electorates/historical-electorate-profiles/

      The Auckland Central electorate comprises the inner city communities of Herne Bay, Ponsonby, Freemans Bay and along the waterfront to Mechanics Bay in the east. Due to projected population growth Westmere and most of Grey Lynn has been transferred to Mt Albert. The western boundary is now largely defined by Richmond Rd, while the eastern boundary now includes Auckland Hospital and the Domain. The southern boundary now includes parts of Grafton and Newton.

      • Ad 13.1.1

        The Grey Lynn Tribe is not a place; it's a way of expressing difference from other kinds of groups within New Zealand. The name is a container for a complex interplay of attitudes, values, prejudices and pretensions.

        https://www.8tribes.co.nz/

        Now that you know it's not a geographically defined area, but instead a Tribe, we can frame it up. If New Zealand has an intelligensia, the Grey Lynn tribe would like to think that it is i t. They are university-trained people who find ideas stimulating and fulfilling. They regard the opinions you hold as a direct reflection of your intellect, which in turn measures your worth as a person.

        Belief in the common good, paying tax and a genuine belief in the public education system and the public health system is a hallmark of their preference for the common good. They dream of the time when New Zealand's social infrastructure was the best in the world.

        They believe the government is responsible for solving social issues through legislation, education programmes, and social marketing campaigns.

        Regulation is the hallmark of their thinking and behaviour: there is no level to which rules ought not be applied. So on the one hand the community experiences and facilities of toy libraries, street fairs and tree-planting is favoured, but on the other hand they can support a wonderful playground experience and then stop children from using because theres no safety plan in place.

        Every Grey Lynn tribe member will have a story about how his or her actions are making the world a better place.

        Who knows, maybe we've seen a few of them here.

        Remember, it's just a fun little taxonomy, and there may well be more than 8 of them by now.

        • lprent 13.1.1.1

          Who knows, maybe we've seen a few of them here.

          I live in Grey Lynn. So yes you have. However I dislike and distrust over-blown abstractions. They become a simple minded self-fulfilling prophecy. And as you have carefully pointed out are essentially meaningless.

          In my early years I grew up in Newton, Ponsonby, and Grey Lynn respectively when they were the cheapest slums in Auckland. This 'tribe' simply didn't exist in this region then or if it did it wasn't an intelligentsia. They were people who couldn't afford decent housing. So your 'tribe' was obviously not living around here then. Besides which they'd have had to have been mostly Polynesian or Maori at the time.

          I think that your 'tribe' mostly existed over in Mt Eden where the housing was somewhat less grotty.

          There was a brief period in the 70s and 80s when these areas were still cheap. They were on the bus routes that went past the university. The place deteriorated into transient students rentals, their local lecturers/gurus, and a significiant population of artists chasing cheap rents. Persoannly I tend to refer to that period as being the screwfest.

          From the 90s the price of housing here kept rising rapidly. These days 'Grey Lynn' in pretty much a haven of soccer moms and dads taking temporary leave of their professional careers with parental leave. There are also large residuals of the previous influxes. It is about as mixed set of areas as you could imagine.

          This is why National have been able to take and hold the electoral vote here, and make significant inroads on the party vote as well.

          Basically, silly abstractions like the "Grey Lynn tribe", Jackson's "The Common Man", Weber's "Ideal type" usually start as being lazy shorthand and rapidly morph into becoming generators of epicycles denying reality while trying to maintain an abstraction.

          Certainly, if I ever actually meet a member of your mythic tribe that conforms to your expectations, I will be sure to point them out to you. However I suspect that around here it is a bit like looking for a snow leopard in a tropical sea level swamp.

          • RedLogix 13.1.1.1.1

            Well I'd have to be a lot more comfortable with the abstraction than you are then. I recall doing the quiz years ago, and fell out as a 60/40 mix of Grey Lynn and Raglan (especially at Christmas) tribe.

            Note carefully; I've never lived in either place. The suburb naming works because, at least when the book was first written, they're easy identifiers we could all recognise and remember. Nothing more.

            My partner is an odd mix of Papatoetoe and North Shore, and I've no idea why she puts up with me.devil

  14. I'd be interested in reading an article on why Labour did so badly in Auckland. While even Rangitata turned red, Labour failed to win Maungakiekie – a marginal for fox sake – flopped in Auckland Central, got nowhere in Papakura and only just held Tamaki Makaurau. Given the swing even North Shore should have gone Labour. Surely someone would be keen on writing an in-depth piece on this failure?

    • bruce 14.1

      Living in Onehunga don't think Labour had a candidate there. Where as Denise Lee worked very hard was very much in your face and seemed to have achieved a lot for the residents there. She just offered a lot more compared to any one else, I would say there a lot of Lee for candidate, Labour for party in the electorate.

  15. GillyT 15

    The Greens are where Labour was 100 years ago: in the ascendancy. They are the future like it or not. I’ve just come from visiting friends in a rural Taranaki community. The older people are resolutely and unequivocally conservative with a small “c” but are prone to every conspiracy theory going (mosque shooting a government plot to take their guns, etc) but their children are expressing very different ideas. One was attending a farmer’s training school and talked openly about sustainability and a “Green” approach. It’s a generational change that’s underway, a la 1984. The now-retired journalist Colin James wrote about it just after JA’s win in 2017, but Chloe Swarbrick’s win is an even more potent example.

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    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
    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
  • 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
    4 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
    5 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
    6 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 ...
    6 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
    6 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
    7 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
    12 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
    14 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
    15 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
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    7 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
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    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
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  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
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  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
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    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
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  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
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  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
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  • Progress continues apace on water storage
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  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
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  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
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