Someone please give Patrick Gower a hug

Written By: - Date published: 12:12 pm, May 18th, 2017 - 62 comments
Categories: spin - Tags: , , , ,

Poor wee chap is obviously desperate for some attention, if this latest incoherent thrashing on the dead TPP is anything to go by – Bill English has saved TPP.

The TPP is on again – and it is thanks to Bill English.

They are not lines that opponents of the trade deal want to hear, but it is the reality they must now deal with.

And that is a foreign policy win for English – and a loss for the opponents of TPP.

In my view, it is not really TPP without the United States. It is the “TPP in name only” or “TPP-lite”. It may soon end up on its deathbed again.

But for now at least, TPP has been saved.

So the TPP that isn’t the TPP has been saved but it hasn’t been saved. OK. Of course the main point of the piece is that the Nat PM is a shiny golden god, but that is always the main point of Gower’s rants.

62 comments on “Someone please give Patrick Gower a hug ”

  1. Muttonbird 1

    He’s still upset he didn’t score a hit on Willie Jackson.

  2. And while some have said Labour hasn’t made a noise about opposing the TTP, they actually have opposed it when Key was busy trying to slam that one through .

    ( I wonder how much the conference in Auckland , the policing and the Ministers travel fees and related expenditures cost us for all that …) .

    The reality is that both NZ First and the Greens have been stridently vocal against the TTPA. Both future coalition partners of the coming Labour led govt.

    I think Bill English should stop wasting the taxpayers money on these dead in the water TTPA negotiations.

    We don’t want it.

    We’ve spoken.

    • mordecai 2.1

      1. It is the TPP not the TTP.
      2. Whose ‘we’?
      3. Labour is traditionally a pro-trade party. The TPP discussions actually began on their watch. Their recent opposition to the TPP is cynical and, frankly, idiotic.
      4. The TPP will go ahead, with or without the US. I suspect eventually it will be with.

  3. Bill 3

    I read somewhere (the Herald? Stuff?) that concessions like those made around pharmac are now locked in and ‘open’ to the US whether or not it becomes a signatory.

    So the TTP may well be dead, but some of the things the negotiations spawned will continue to live and kick.

    • Indeed , and this latest attempt at a USA -less TTPA is being conducted with the notion that the USA will eventually come back into the fold at a later date.

      I would say there are some pretty powerful self interest groups that are funding , planning and waiting in the wings for the fall of Donald J Trump.

      Such as the Hollywood Motion Picture Industry group that was charged with drawing up much of the terms to be ratified before Congress for one.

      Kim Dotcom could tell us all about that I’m sure…

      • Bill 3.1.1

        My understanding from the snippet I read was that it doesn’t matter whether the US come to the party or not now. They get to enjoy the benefits flowing off the back of the pharmac compromises (and possibly others too) because they (the pharmac ones) were to apply to both signatories and non-signatories alike.

        I guess the way is open for the US to engage in a 21C version of gunboat trade diplomacy now – no compromise.

        Actually, that’s not right, is it? The NZ government has done the gunboat bit all on its own!

        • WILD KATIPO 3.1.1.1

          Hehe… I didn’t want to say it but…

          Lil’ ole New Zealand was the ‘ test case’ for the free market experiment… what better country than ours to launch and then push the envelope from…

          Squeaky clean , ‘ nobody’s ever heard of ‘ New Zealand….

          And no I wont include Hugh Prices sterling historical account of the Mont Pelerin Society..

          Bugger it ,… I will. Its relevant .

          100 %.

          If only to educate and inform our fellow New Zealanders born as millennials. And that’s why I always include it. For the education of those born post 1984.

          New Right Fight – Who are the New Right?
          http://www.newrightfight.co.nz/pageA.html

        • Stunned Mullet 3.1.1.2

          There was an extraordinary amount of uninformed scaremongering about medicine cost and supply in NZ during the TPPA fracas.

          • WILD KATIPO 3.1.1.2.1

            And there was an extraordinary amount of undisclosed skulduggery going on during the negotiations of the TTPA that deliberately kept the public out of the loop as well.

            And one of them was the Investor States Disputes Settlement.

            Democracy has taken 500 hundred blood soaked years to come about.

            It wont be given away that easily.

            • Stunned Mullet 3.1.1.2.1.1

              That’s some fine hyperbolic bombast WK.

              • Bombast?

                No more than I find so many of those who support National in their dogmatic parroted statements. The difference being, is empirical evidence aside , – National and its duplicitous policy’s are now being laid bare .

                Lets take it a step further , National and its globalist neo liberalism.

                Its falling apart. It aint what people signed up for when they voted.

                ‘ hyperbolic bombast ‘ ?

                Nah.

                You haven’t been paying attention to worldwide trends. Brexit. Trump. Do you really think you can carry on rubbing peoples noses in shit before they finally turn on you?

                Here’s a wee story to illustrate.

                Our family always had dogs. Lots of them. One of them was a German shepherd. He was loyal and would give his life for you. But my father used to beat him with a 3 foot long inch thick alkathene pipe. When he had a few too many beers. I heard that dog yelping and screaming under the house for a full five minutes.

                Then I heard a low deep chested snarling growl.

                That dog had had enough . And he was fighting back for what he perceived was for his life against the natural pack loyalty’s he had for his pack leader…

                The beatings stopped from then on after. It never happened again.

                That dog was my faithful companion and I never felt afraid when he was with me deep in the bush in the Waitakere’s / Huia where I grew up. We were a team.

                And the same goes for trying to push the people of NZ. You fuck with them bad enough they’ll round on you.

                ‘ hyperbolic bombast’ ?

                Nah. Its called survival , mate.

                • Stunned Mullet

                  Now you’re just being a flibbertigibbet.

                  • And your an idiot.

                    Anything more you’d like to add?

                    • Stunned Mullet

                      “And your an idiot.”

                      Oh the irony

                    • Only in your own mind. You set yourself up for it. It was a simple illustration of authoritarian abuse that sailed completely over your head. Therefore you remain , … simply an idiot and a dullard.

                    • McFlock

                      WK, I think the irony might have been in your choice of “your”.

                      A variation of muphry’s law 🙂

                    • Aye that might be a point,… but the analogy is clear – that the TTPA WOULD NOT be good for the majority of NZ workers.

                      1) We would have to accept cheap produce that would threaten our industry’s / future industry’s and workers.

                      2) We would have to accept exorbitant prices with little recourse for cheaper products – and without the ability to include trade tariffs to regulate that industry and the TTPA selected importers.

                      3) We would have to bow to a globalist panel of corporate lawyers having the audacity to take our democratically elected govt to their ‘pseudo court ‘ because of the ‘ Investor State Dispute Settlement’.

                      4) And in view of the above points , – negating the full context of having a true ‘sovereign ‘ nation state and elected govt by the people . Which is of course , – anti democratic by its very definition .

                      * I might add, that trade tariffs were abolished quite awhile back. If anything , – they need to be reestablished. One of the reasons NZ’S manufacturing base was decimated was a direct result of trade tariffs being abandoned. Yet they persist in the USA , England and many other so called ‘ neo liberal economy’s’ in various forms , – so why should WE be any different???

                • garibaldi

                  Wild Katipo, quite frankly I wouldn’t include stories like how your father treated your dog. Shame on him. People like that really piss me off. No excuse for it.

                  • That’s right .

                    And exactly the point.

                    And if even a dog can rear up and demonstrate when its had enough – how much moreso can a people of a democratic country ?

                    And that was EXACTLY the point.

                    Its called an analogy or ‘ parable’.

          • Draco T Bastard 3.1.1.2.2

            No, really the wasn’t. There was a lot of BS from the right-wing about how great it would be though.

            • Stunned Mullet 3.1.1.2.2.1

              I can’t recall anyone saying how great the TPPA would be for medicine supply and prices in NZ … perhaps you could paste a link or two ?

              • Draco T Bastard

                Why?

                I was talking about overall. You’re the one trying to limit it to just medicines and all of the research showed that we would be worse off there.

              • @ Stunned sprat

                Perhaps you should say why the TTPA would be so great for NZ and specifically , – what YOU would gain from it.

                Then juxtapose that with the harm it would do to other NZ’ers – such as the unemployed, and low waged workers and those reliant on expensive drug therapy ….

              • Tautoko Mangō Mata

                Here’s a link on ISDS- Investor State Dispute Settlement-

                In recent years, ISDS provisions of investment treaties, free trade and other agreements have increasingly provided an investment opportunity to make money by speculating on lawsuits, winning huge awards and forcing foreign governments, and taxpayers, to pay. Financial speculators have increasingly purchased corporations deemed capable of profitably bringing winnable ISDS claims, sometimes using ‘shell companies’.
                Some hedge funds and private equity firms even finance ISDS cases as third parties, with ISDS itself the raison d’etre for such investments. Such ‘third-party funding’ of ISDS claims has been expanding quickly as financing such claims has proven to be very lucrative.

                http://www.ipsnews.net/2017/04/dispute-settlement-becomes-speculative-financial-asset/

              • Johan

                Do your own bloody homework.

  4. Phil 4

    In my view, it is not really TPP without the United States. It is the “TPP in name only” or “TPP-lite”. It may soon end up on its deathbed again.

    The original TPP negotiations between NZ, Singapore, and Chile (and later Brunei) began in 2002. It was supposed to be an agreement between small open economies.

    A TPP without the US is not ‘in name only’. It’s exactly what the intent of original agreement was supposed to be.

    • Interesting,… so why on earth did the Hollywood Motion Picture Industry become the body in the US to draw up so much of the terms to be submitted to Congress … were the USA always the Johnny come lately’s ?

      Or was the USA always involved but kept in the shadows , – so they knew they had to tread carefully and do things by increments because they anticipated there would be mass protest against corporate domination over governments and workers?

      Or was it a deal brokered behind closed doors like the TTPA seemed to be for most of its natural born lifespan,… and just when did they think it was such a smart idea to include such things as the ‘Investor-state dispute settlement ‘ mechanism ?

      Was that on the minds of just NZ, Singapore, and Chile ?… or was it actually – in keeping with TTPA negotiations with its media black outs and non disclosure, – a forewarning to its real extent of anti sovereignty legislation ?

  5. Dorothy Bulling 5

    Blinglish gives me the impression that he would like to turn to Key and say, “am I doing it right John?” He is no more a PM than I am a man!

    • Whispering Kate 5.1

      Don’t think so Dorothy – Blinglish is much more dangerous than Key. Why do you think Key endorsed him as PM. He is a globalist through to his bones, has been in the game for so long he has skin on it. He is also a policy wonk and totally dedicated to globalization. He is in it for the end game unlike Key who was just in it for the bells and whistles. That is why he is pressing on with it – against the country’s wishes. The sooner he is out of government the better off we will be.

      • WILD KATIPO 5.1.1

        Well said Whispering Kate .

        You are utterly onto the Bill English trail.

        It has been Bill English all along. That man. Not Key. Key was the front man , English was the motivator. English is an ideologue , and his particular brand is of the Mont Pelerin Society vintage.

        Bill English is a left over from the latter days of Rogernomic’s.

        Like a dogged wolf , this man has persevered. He has done the Rodney Hide act and the Cameron Slater act in getting in the boxing ring .

        BOTH OF THEM DID IT.

        And they did it to appeal to the common folk and advance a particular agenda.

        Globalism using neo liberalism as the delivery mechanism.

        Whether it was done under the direction of international Jesuits aka Catholicism or Jacob Frank Zionism , –

        Jacob Frank – Wikipedia
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Frank

        The end game remains the same . To advance the cause of globalist one world governance using economics and ‘ free trade deals’ which cripples the autonomy of the democratically elected govt’s of sovereign nations.

        And THAT’S the end game they are playing to.

        Anyone in denial of that fact denies the reality of George Bush Seniors words ” No one shall stand against our new world order and against the thousand points of light ”… said over and over again in his speeches.

        President George H.W. Bush – Points of Light – YouTube
        Video for geaorge bush senior thousand points of light you tube▶ 0:50
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQhbEh8AeSA

        And that ‘ thousand points of light ‘ are a direct Masonic occultist reference to outright bloody Luciferarian worship.

        Alex Jones Dark Secrets Inside Bohemian Grove Satanic Ritual …
        Video for satanic bohemian grove▶ 2:56
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiOgwMC-fAY

        Regarding English as opposed to Key … ‘ He is a globalist through to his bones, has been in the game for so long he has skin on it. He is also a policy wonk and totally dedicated to globalization. He is in it for the end game unlike Key who was just in it for the bells and whistles. ‘… there could be no more truthful statement than this.

        Well done , Whispering Kate.

        You have this odious little man well pegged and exposed for what and who he actually is.

        Further proof :

        New Right Fight – Who are the New Right?
        http://www.newrightfight.co.nz/pageA.html

        Thule Society – Wikipedia
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thule_Society

        Young Hitler – Excerpts Appendix | The Thule Society
        http://www.younghitler.com/thule_society.htm

        • Whispering Kate 5.1.1.1

          Thank you Wild Katipo – its nice to know there is someone else out there who is on to the case with our Billie. Why other folks can’t see through him I find surprising. He is a secular Jesuit with all the harshness and judgmental traits they had back in the dark ages. Maybe he is a reincarnation of one of Jesuits during the heresy era who frightened the bejesus out of non-believers – I hope that gives you a chuckle.

    • Johan 5.2

      To DB,
      Poor Bill has great difficulty formulating a coherent sentence when telling porkies. John Key never had that problem. I believe it has something to do with being raised as a Catholic choir boy.

      • The decrypter 5.2.1

        Bill is a slow liar, jonky was a speedy liar, bill is under speed liar training in preparation for looming leaders debates.

  6. McFlock 6

    I suppose the major risk is that they keep it twitching long enough that Trump gets impeached and president pence reactivates US involvement. The US demands were the really damaging ones.

    When these 11 trade ministers meet, how many will be wanting to ease back on some of the US conditions? It might be a slightly different beast.

    The other observation I’ll make is that is Trump’s trade, diplomatic and military isolationism is giving Abe the opportunity to expand Japan’s regional influence. It’s no coincidence that Abe is (practically) unilaterally taking the electric paddles to the tpp’s chest at the same time as proposing constitutional amendments for recognition of the defense forces.

    • weka 6.1

      Isn’t it the whole governments can be sued thing that’s the main problem? And without that bit the agreement won’t exist?

      • McFlock 6.1.1

        The investor-state dispute settlement bits were bad, definitely. But also the intellectual property sections were so strong as to stifle innovation, there were serious concerns about how pharmac could be affected, and istr some issues around the use of foreign labour under foreign labour laws in NZ, could be mistaken on that, though.

        There were some good things around CITES and general international cooperation, good governance/anti corruption, and some human rights sections, though. And then there’s the actual tarriff thing, which some people agree with and others don’t.

        So that’s why Labour were “we’ll renegotiate the bits we don’t like”. There were some good bits in the agreement, but they were buried in some great piles of shit.

        • weka 6.1.1.1

          Thanks for the reminder round up (haven’t thought about it in a while). I think the temptation to horse trade e.g. re pharmac, while understandable is hugely problematic because of the ISDS. If it were an actual trade agreement instead of a surrendering of sovereignty, it would make sense to try for those things.

          Bill just poked the resistance. Just in time for the election 🙂 Sometimes I think he is a plant for the forces that want the govt changed, lol.

          • McFlock 6.1.1.1.1

            I think the ISDS might have been one of the things Labour wanted to revisit.

            • Bill 6.1.1.1.1.1

              Well whatever it was, it doesn’t matter. Any changes have to be ratified by (I think) every other signatory. It was and is essentially a “lock-down”.

              • McFlock

                Yeah, but the main signatory behind the worst bits of it has pulled out 🙂

          • Bill 6.1.1.1.2

            You know I consistently want a change to the way of government 😉

        • WILD KATIPO 6.1.1.2

          @ McFlock

          ‘ There were some good things around CITES and general international cooperation, good governance/anti corruption, and some human rights sections, though.’

          Possibly yes,… but don’t we already have a UN ? – and don’t we already have International bodies set up for CITES? – and isn’t it a burden on each govt of each state to ensure ‘ good governance/anti corruption’ measures ?

          Why do we need a panel of global corporate’s to decide what a democratically elected govt of a sovereign nation state deems ‘good governance ‘ ? I’m referring of course to the Investor state dispute settlement section.

          The fuck with corporate’s !!! – they do what WE bloody tell them to do – not the other way round !!! And if WE want to slap on a tariff because their cheap imported shit is hurting our industry’s and our workers – they can go shaft themselves. I find that aspect incredibly offensive.

          Anyways . That’s my rant and my main objections.

          And I’m happy to be described a moderate social democrat nationalist and totally unapologetic for being so .

          • McFlock 6.1.1.2.1

            well, I seem to recall that the CITES and other obligations required the tpp members to take specific steps to meet the broader UN issues. Which is good because consistent regulation limits the ability to exploit gaps, like corporates do with different tax codes to create dutch sandwiches etc.

            Reinforcing obligations with multiple agreements isn’t a problem, and increases the motive to stick with them. I reckon you might be running up the wrong alley there.

            • WILD KATIPO 6.1.1.2.1.1

              ‘ I reckon you might be running up the wrong alley there.’

              Possibly , but why do we need TTPA signatory’s to endorse this?

              Seems to me to be more of a ‘sanitizing ‘ bit of lolly to mask the real intent.

              • McFlock

                Well, it depends how much of it was in before the yanks jumped in and started waving their dicks around.

                If a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, then conversely it’s quite possible that the current turdgarden we call the TPP will grow some nice veges if we water it regularly and let the smell disappear. The seeds are already in it 😉

                • And that’s the problem , due to the non disclosure to the media and the public, we cannot gauge it. And if its that cloaked in secrecy ,… even that bodes evil tidings for those who wish transparency in democracy.

                  Hardly a recipe for public input.

                  Which is probably why there was such general mobilization against it.

                  All that aside,.. as it was , there was more than enough shady deals being mooted to warrant those widespread protests in the first place. That aint how we do democracy.

    • @ McFlock

      ‘ I suppose the major risk is that they keep it twitching long enough that Trump gets impeached and president pence reactivates US involvement.’

      I think you’re onto it.

      And as Bill said ,… ‘ it doesn’t matter whether the US come to the party or not now. They get to enjoy the benefits flowing off the back of the pharmac compromises (and possibly others too) because they (the pharmac ones) were to apply to both signatories and non-signatories alike.’

      They will not stop trying or ever give it up. And if it doesn’t succeed in this name or form ,- it will eventually in another. So we cant rest on the laurels at all. Rust never sleeps and neither to these bastards. And if they get a temporary set back they will settle for an abridged version until such times as they can lock it in in all its fullness.

      We are dealing with free market globalists who view national sovereignty as an anathema and impediment to their version of a centralized power and economic structure – yet one which is flexible enough and multi national to deny the obvious label of being an obvious centralized ‘ totalitarian state’.

      Those grey people busily working away in the ‘City of London’ square mile have a lot to answer for…

      • Bill 6.2.1

        This is a bit tangential, but you’re touching on why I get so pissed off at the sheer idiocy of just jumping on anything that feeds an anti-Trump thing. The fuckers stoking it up are the very same ones that people in the US and elsewhere have sent a clear message of “anything but you” to.

        I commented in the run-up to the US election that if Trump won, the opportunity would be there for the left to organise and mobilise, and that the danger to that would be coming from the wound licking democrats and their fellow travelers seeking to rehabilitate themselves.

        Seems that danger’s risen up now – eg, vacuous ‘Russia meddling’ reports, bullshit CW reports, endless stream of baseless accusations feeding into general jagged finger pointing…and no-one’s calling it.

        Which is potentially going to leave us with a ‘nice’ situation in the US whereby the forces of “anything but Trump” (the ‘establishment’ as personified by Cain/Clinton et al) are aligned against the “anything but the status quo” (swathes of the electorate) and “the left” will be nowhere to be seen.

        Oh. And we all get fucked in the ensuing bullshit of onerous trade deals coming into being – whether pushed by the finance friendly liberals or the weird authoritarians

  7. Gabby 7

    So the yankers get what they wanted and give up nothing? Bingles you’re a fricking genius.

  8. weka 8

    Paddy being a try hard.

  9. Incognito 9

    Here’s the parliamentary history of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement Amendment Bill in all its gory: https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/bills-and-laws/bills-proposed-laws/document/00DBHOH_BILL68998_1/trans-pacific-partnership-agreement-amendment-bill

    MP in charge: McClay, Todd; Minister of Free Trade; Minister for State Part-Owned Enterprises

    Why anybody would like to revive this Frankensteinian creation is beyond me but you have to be absolutely braindead to be cheering for it. RIP NZ journalism.

    • McFlock 9.1

      Well, it’s blinglish. After their conference tanked, this might be his only achievement as pm.

      Still, boosts the stakes in the election.

      • Incognito 9.1.1

        Surely, posting a ‘surplus’ again next week would suffice as an ‘achievement’ …

  10. rhinocrates 10

    I wouldn’t want to give him a hug. He has the permanent expression of a rodent that’s realised that it’s just sharted.

  11. Logicgerman 12

    Oh what would I give to have 5 minutes of fame. I guess that is a desire.

    How about the person who reads this? In short what this blog shows. We can talk endlessly. But to change needs another character.

    Patrick is a person who wants to go up the ladder. In this world, you kill your mother to achieve this.

    Real world and fantasay world

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    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 ...
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    1 day 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
    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
    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
    2 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
    3 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
    3 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    5 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 ...
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
  • There’s a name for this
    Every year, in the Budget, Parliament forks out money to government agencies to do certain things. And every year, as part of the annual review cycle, those agencies are meant to report on whether they have done the things Parliament gave them that money for. Agencies which consistently fail to ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days 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
    5 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
    7 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
    8 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
    22 hours 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
    5 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
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