Something big but not like that

Written By: - Date published: 7:45 am, March 23rd, 2021 - 41 comments
Categories: covid-19, election 2020, housing, jacinda ardern, poverty - Tags:

Chris Trotter and Martyn Bradbury have been running some interesting theories recently.

The theories are straight out of beltway, or at least a twisted part of beltway.

Chris reported in this post on rumours that that Jacinda was going to resign as Prime Minister.  The basis for his claim?  A usually reliable source.

Comrade Chris thought that Jacinda had recently been “out of sorts”, “morose”, “not her usual self” and speculated that she was pregnant.

He then chose to repeat completely discredited Colmar Brunton polling analysis where a change in polling technique suggested Jacinda’s popularity was waning.  Only if Judith’s is tanking.  Stephen Mills, who knows something about polling, was properly dismissive of the claim.

Piling hyperbole on top of hyperbole comrade Chris then said this:

In normal circumstances, this might have worked. But, from what I have discovered over the past 72 hours, these are not normal circumstances. Only last week, Robertson’s friend and mentor, Sir Michael Cullen, a man stoically succumbing to terminal lung cancer, is reported to have told a select gathering of Labour Party notables that: “It is not enough simply to win – you have to DO something.” Aware of how determined the PM is to “do” as Sir Michael advises; seized also, as his boss is said to be, by intimations of mortality, Robertson, “the reluctant radical” seems ready, for once, to throw caution to the wind.

From all sides, now, comes word of the imminence of “something big” being announced. The Labour caucus is said to be both “nervous” and “excited”.

And how did Comrade Martyn handle this disclosure?  Not very well:

Th[e] latest political rumour being feverishly spread through the back channels is that Jacinda and Grant are at loggerheads over a secret new policy programme to the point that Jacinda has threatened to resign if Grant doesn’t give it to her.

Now sure, there is a secret new policy programme and sure it is transformative, but the resistance to it isn’t coming from Grant, it’s coming from the Wellington Bureaucratic elites who are terrified that Jacinda intends to actually make them help the people.

Reporting on gossip, that is almost inevitably wrong, is not the basis for a sound policy discussion.

Coincidentally I saw Jacinda on Saturday.  She was out with Clark and her daughter.  They were clearly wanting to get some family time together.

After the past 12 months should she feel jaded?  Having guided us through a global pandemic that has brought many nations to their knees and winning a historic election result what do you think?

And she is probably getting pretty tired of the beltway demanding that she has regular drinks with them rather than spend time with her daughter.

Bradbury’s attempt to suggest that debt is the sticking point is strange.  Interest rates have never been lower, the economy is remarkably robust and the rather dire predictions for the economy have proven to be very conservative, and very wrong.  And the current debt trends suggest there is a significant amount of head room.

Today the Government will announce its response to the housing crisis.  I suspect that there will be some pretty radical responses proposed.  Which is a good thing.

But Jacinda announcing her resignation as PM?  Comrades Trotter and Bradbury should interview their laptops less.

41 comments on “Something big but not like that ”

  1. Infused 1

    That's an interesting read. The policy is likely right. Jacinda is looking tired but I doubt the rest is true.

    • Cave Johnson 1.1

      After reading Chris Trotter's article I wondered if the rumours of resignation could have been based on JA staking her position on getting the policy through cabinet. "Support me on this or I'm out."

  2. Visubversa 2

    Comrade Trotter is still sulking 'cos the Labour Party does not ask him to sing at their conferences any more.

  3. Tiger Mountain 3

    Some NZ Labour Party loyalists I have known for many years, and have friendly relations with, from unions, community boards, LECs, to even a handful of ex MPs, have been doing the long unthinkable, and being publicly questioning of the progress of the Arden majority Govt. on matters non COVID.

    Sue Moroney has been most forthright on social media calling for bold moves on benefits and housing in particular.

    I am not trying to negate Micky’s view of Mr Trotter and Mr Bradbury, unquestionably thorns in many sides for a long time, and poking in places not everyone likes to go. But where there is smoke…criticism of this unprecedented MMP majority Govt. does seem to be registering at top levels.

    I really think there will need to be generational change among voters for the biggest question of all to be faced–retiring structural neo liberalism. The working class of NZ desperately need a “visible hand” of intervention at the moment, not more banksters telling Jacinda and Grant “how it is”.

    • Adrian Thornton 3.1

      @ Tiger Mountain, " not more banksters telling Jacinda and Grant “how it is” unfortunately that exactly who Ardern and Robertson seek out for advice, along with all NZ MSM, thereby creating a closed loop of rigid thinking about the economy in both government and the general public…in other words, because there is never any alternative to the neoliberal ideology offered or even discussed anywhere by anyone, an alternative is never even considered.

      It seems pretty obvious to me that Labour NZ is directed by free market fundamentalists, not only would they never consider an alternative to neoliberalism, they obviously don't believe there is one…just look at their response to the housing crisis today… it’s like shifting seats on the Titanic.

      • Tiger Mountain 3.1.1

        I agree, neo liberalism is an entrenched, legislated, closed system. If the Govt. wants to appear to find something out–a report is contracted out to the private sector. People are paid hundreds per hour to put the slipper into beneficiaries, or if like the Welfare Experts Advisory Group, they recommend change, then their findings are ignored.

        The neoliberal Parliamentary consensus only responds to “disruption” of some kind–as at Ihumātao, or equal pay for carers. It takes organisation and action to achieve anything much against the Fifth Columnists at the top of the public service, and the Finance Capitalists that export so much in profits that should go to the NZ working class.

  4. lprent 4

    Jacinda is looking tired…

    Hardly surprising after the last year. I mostly just write code. After a year of zoom meetings often on weird time zones, delays in getting gear, the frustrations of remotely diagnosing faults, and lockdown sessions of trying to have two of us working in our 55 square metre apartment – I'm actually looking forward to getting some more holiday time.

    This is a bit of a shock to my system. Outside of visiting families, since this site started almost 13 years ago, I only have had one actual two week holiday. My holiday time usually gets chewed up with elections, server fixes, helping various organisations and people out, and playing with educating chunks of technology.

    Since covid-19 struck, I have had a week in a bus and a extended Waitangi weekend at a airbnb. Way way more than my usual holiday time – and all of it concentrated on winding down and hanging about. It turns out that I'm not that good at holidays – lack of practice.

    It has either been a hard year, or I'm getting older a lot faster that I used to.

    I may have to eat into my copious holiday time backlog more over the coming year. But locally. I have been going overseas a lot in the last 6 years for work. Flying is a waste of my time. I prefer to relax here.

    But I think that Chris Trotter and Martyn Bradbury are barking up the wrong tree. It has just been a really hard year for hard workers. Way harder for Jacinda than my little work stress. But she still looks more relaxed than I feel.

    • Rosemary McDonald 4.1

      Jacinda is looking tired…my guess she's losing precious sleep over what she must realise by now was the rather foolish promise of no Capital Gains Tax on her watch.

  5. tc 5

    Trotter sings for his supper fulfilling his role as the tame 'left' voice the msm require for 'balance'.

  6. GreenBus 6

    Bomber is very seldom wrong. Mr Trotter not so much. Propping up this useless Govt. must be exhausting, but since they all do sfa all, except covid covid covid, which I expect Dr Bloomfield does most of, why Jacinda so tired? Hard year my arse.

  7. Sabine 7

    Hard Year?

    Yeah, it was a hard year. For anyone who lost their jobs. For anyone who lost their business. For anyone who will lose their business, For anyone who is losing their job. For all those that can neither rent nor buy. For the women who don't receive unemployment benefits even tho they paid taxes during their working lifes. For the kids that go to school and then not.

    This year has been hard on anyone. The only ones that have had it nice as far as i can understand are the ones that suffered no income loss, that can work safely from home and for whom life has not changed a bit aside from working from home. The rest of us? Shit outta luck, every day a bit more – specifically women.
    here is a nice article of who did well during covid and who did not. Guess where the women are at.

    https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/divided-we-fall-the-scary-trends-in-new-zealands-two-speed-economy/YVISWHWYQOV5ZPOICRMGU3QHUM/

    The difference between the PM and the rest of us, we can't actually quit. IF she wants to quit, give a week of notice like dear Leader John Key did, she could. She would not suffer loss of reputation, she would not suffer a loss of income, and she would surely land on her f eet.

    But i find it amusing that now that NZFirst ain't the blaming block anymore on which to chop heads, its Grant Robertson and the Burocrats.
    Maybe she could just muster all her courage, and ignore the risk averse person she seems to be, and maybe just hold a presser and lays out all the stuff she would like to do if others would let her. But she don't. And that is telling, and it is telling loudly.

    Maybe her tiredness is due to the change in season, maybe she is pregnant (which can be a issue), maybe she is just tired.

    The whole country is tired, more so these that have no income, try to live on begging benefits, and are trying to make go with air and a kind word of ‘not here to help’.

  8. Adrian Thornton 8

    "Interest rates have never been lower, the economy is remarkably robust and the rather dire predictions for the economy have proven to be very conservative, and very wrong. And the current debt trends suggest there is a significant amount of head room"….you do understand MS that an economy that can't house it's own citizens is an broken economy right?..or have you turned slowly over the years (maybe without even realizing it) into some sort of left leaning libertarian?

    • mickysavage 8.1

      You do understand that passage was to provide support for the Government to spend up on dealing with the housing crisis?

      And that straight after that passage I said this:

      "Today the Government will announce its response to the housing crisis. I suspect that there will be some pretty radical responses proposed. Which is a good thing"

      • Sabine 8.1.1

        there was nothing radical in it. Nothing Micky. Its actually a package that is 3 years to late.

        https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/housing-crisis-38b-housing-package-unveiled-speculators-to-be-stung-by-bright-line-test-extension/7VPSYR42A6UZO7B2UTGKYC3GVM/

        I read the whole thing, and it is nothing more then a testament to the inaction of the first term.

        Too little too late.

        • Enough is Enough 8.1.1.1

          I completely agree.

          Today's announcement shows they are totally out of ideas and don't know what to do. It is generally an extension of programmes and taxes that are already in place, but have had no effect to date,

          Its a mild tweak rather than anything radical.

          • Sanctuary 8.1.1.1.1

            The problem with the likes of yourself is you seem to have no idea of the political landscape. As Otto von Bismarck said — "Politics is the art of the possible, the attainable — the art of the next best." The property owning class, which constitutes both the main advertisers and main readers of the likes of the NZ herald and therefore underpin the entire NZME stable, will react with fury to this. National as the party of the rentier will fight this tooth and nail and they'll be able to count on a fair slab of the media to spread misinformation.

            Labour has done about as much as they can within political reason.

            • Sabine 8.1.1.1.1.1

              While mentioning hte Iron Chancellier you need to also mention that Germany has social housing, and welfare because of him. Why?

              The good man realised that if the unwashed, unhoused, lowly paid, generally abused mass of the poor left to nothing they will revolt. And thus under the Iron Chancellier germany got a few benefits health care benefit, accident compensation, retirement benefits.

              Jacinda Ardern is no where near the Iron Chancellier. She will never be anywhere near him, or Mr. Savage for that matter. Both knew that an unsupported, hungry, unhoused, neglected populace is not good for interal piace. And the Labour Party of our time seems to think that tinkering on the edegs will fix something that has grown unrestricted for a few decades now.

              'State Socialism (German: Staatssozialismus) was a set of social programmes implemented in the German Empire that were initiated by Otto von Bismarck in 1883 as remedial measures to appease the working class and detract support for socialism and the Social Democratic Party of Germany following earlier attempts to achieve the same objective through Bismarck's Anti-Socialist Laws.[1][2] As a term, it was coined by Bismarck's liberal opposition to these social welfare policies, but it was later accepted by Bismarck.[3] This did not prevent the Social Democrats from becoming the biggest party in the Reichstag by 1912. According to historian Jonathan Steinberg, "[a]ll told, Bismarck's system was a massive success—except in one respect. His goal to keep the Social Democratic Party out of power utterly failed. The vote for the Social Democratic Party went up and by 1912 they were the biggest party in the Reichstag".[4]

              https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Socialism_(Germany)

              https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/bismarck-tried-end-socialisms-grip-offering-government-healthcare-180964064/

            • Enough is Enough 8.1.1.1.1.2

              I don't disagree with you. But you just get to the point of concluding what is the point of a Labour Government?

              It's National with a dusting of artificial kindness.

              We are 3.5 years into this government's reign, and really, what the hell is different from 2017.

              • Tiger Mountain

                Indeed, Enough is Enough. The Emperor has no clothes, but very few in the punditry or establishment will bring that to the public’s attention for some rather obvious reasons.

                Labour has made numerous incremental changes, and small projects via the Provincial Growth fund–which is appreciated in Northland. I mean who could not like free period products, cultural centres and start ups galore and the Kaipara set to become a marine highway again.

                But…the big stuff for working class people and the environment is just not happening and not likely to. They are still bricking themselves dealing with Dairy Farmers, so enjoy that nitrate with your glass of water for a while yet.
                Fair Pay Agreements? Not on Jacinda’s watch. Even my union friends have acknowledged it will take a strong campaign on that to get anything resembling the CTU concept of FPAs.

                Nothing will change for real imo, until there is a generational voter shift, and gen Student loan, and gen exploited renter become tired of paying NZ Super for all these know it all bastards with multiple properties and kick some arse at the polls.

                My pick is for the Green and Māori Party to hook up and get a strong vote for promoting all the things Labour was too timid to do!

                • Enough is Enough

                  I don't understand why they are timid.

                  Key and the Nats came in and just did whatever they wanted. They slashed taxes for the rich and sold state assets despite there being widespread disapproval of those two key policies. Their base wanted them so they delivered to their base.

                  Why can't Labour deliver to its base – working class New Zealanders. Why does it pander to the property owning elite?

                  • Tiger Mountain

                    While yours might be a rhetorical question…my reckon is…

                    a) NZ Labour is in effect an elite organisation with not much “rank and file” involvement, excepting election cycles. It is an election machine more than it is a community organising entity for social improvement. Māori Party and Green involve their membership more enthusiastically imo.

                    Labour has a strong brand, though little ideological grunt, following the 1980s clean out of leftists from the top level of the Party. One of the early things Roger Douglas did was sever links with the Trade Unions, by ending the Joint Council of Labour–where workers leaders met face to face with Labour Party leaders. Jim Anderton was virtually expelled also. Ultimately you cannot expect an at best centrist party, to act like a left party. But social media and perception counts for a lot these days, and people of many stripes were genuinely so appreciative of the PM’s COVID performance.

                    b) Technically for those into left politics, even Savage era Labour was characterised as “class collaborationist” by marxists, because they advocated class peace with Finance Capital and the captains of industry rather than open struggle. Neo Liberalism is probably the last stage of capitalism before authoritarianism proper, as Mr Trump demonstrated. Private capital is so ensconced in the NZ Govt. mechanism, and the Parliamentary consensus between Labour and National says that the Reserve Bank Act and all the rest MUST remain whoever the Govt. is, that change is very difficult. That explains much of their inaction on urgent matters.

          • Mat Simpson 8.1.1.1.2

            " Today's announcement shows they are totally out of ideas and don't know what to do "

            There are trapped in the market driven neo liberal world that their predecessors created.

            They want to deliver but can't due to the market constraints and powerful vested interests.

            Until someone has the real courage and guts to stand against the current system and the oppressed demand their fair share nothing is ever going to change.

      • Adrian Thornton 8.1.2

        Exactly what was "some pretty radical responses"? that you would like to point out to us during this what is effectively a state emergency?

  9. Stuart Munro 9

    The housing announcement is significant. Of course it will not reverse the decades of injustice nor will it rapidly reform the housing situation. But Labour has finally broken with the presumption of ineffability of markets, and understood that speculators and productive investors are very different beasts. Not so long ago that would have been unthinkable for them.

    The upside is evaluating other neoliberal failures on their merits is suddenly on the cards – it becomes possible to return to pre-Rogergnomic norms of good governance. Too late for our generation, but worth doing nevertheless.

    • Shanreagh 9.1

      The upside is evaluating other neoliberal failures on their merits is suddenly on the cards – it becomes possible to return to pre-Rogergnomic norms of good governance. Too late for our generation, but worth doing nevertheless.

      Including, I hope, a recognition that good governance is NOT only found in the company business model with its rigid short term ROR. How do you value the return on an investment in housing for instance – using business models? I don't think so!

      The return is incalculable when looking at the benefits of stability for children so they can be educated, have warm houses etc. Neo-libs were known for “knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing”(Oscar Wilde)

      I guess the acolytes of the first wave of neo-libs of the Chicago school may still be in govt departments may still be with us in the PS, sadly. Without some intervention it becomes a TINA (there is no alternative) option when recruiting for public sector CEs.

      Perhaps some work could be done to model the best store of knowledge, exposure to concepts that we expect from a CE – perhaps a working knowledge of triple bottom line accounting "people, planet, and profit." with a greater emphasis on the last of the Ps people and planet. Or incorporating well being as an aspiration or measure.

      The triple bottom line (TBL) is an accounting framework that incorporates three dimensions of performance: social, environmental, and financial. These three facets can be summarized as "people, planet, and profit." https://www.investopedia.com/

      Also as Ad said in 'Covid Zeitgeist'

      Related to this – my concern is that the single biggest insight delivered by the pandemic is going to be rapidly stuffed down the rabbit hole of amnesia. It's that an economy is a tool created, managed and refined by humans to serve the needs of every citizen. An economy can be put in suspended animation for 6 weeks to stop lots of people dying, and governments who control their own currency can create money out of nothing when they really need to. An economy has no independent existence from the society it serves. To say as some people did at the start of the pandemic, that 'the economy' requires that we let the virus circulate in the community, is to create a genocidal abstraction.

      "After such knowledge, what forgiveness ?" There will be a major effort to eradicate the knowledge and withhold any forgiveness.

      We need to see the understanding in the PS that the economy is a tool of the people not some sacrosanct abstraction called 'the economy' that cannot be altered and exists outside of everything.

  10. mikesh 10

    The announcement has been made:

    The Brightline Test is to be extended to ten years;

    It looks as if interest is to be no longer deductible from rental incomes; and

    Caps on first home buyers' grants are to be increased.

  11. Ad 11

    Ardern looked in fine form rolling out big policy this morning.

    Good to hear a little policy ambition tension in the joint. Its needed.

  12. Sanctuary 12

    Ever heard a jet engine spooling up? it makes a whine that sounds like the property owners lobby group…

  13. Booker 13

    Chris Trotter is more and more taking over from Whale Oil these days. Just ignore him.

  14. Sanctuary 14

    Chris Trotter's main sin is he lives in the past.

  15. Siobhan 15

    "After the past 12 months should she feel jaded? Having guided us through a global pandemic that has brought many nations to their knees and winning a historic election result what do you think?"

    I'm not sure that "winning a historic election"..is a valid excuse for feeling 'jaded' and doing stuff all about pretty much everything ..apart from, as you say, closing the borders of an island on the arse end of the planet in a pandemic.

    I’m really not sure that todays announcements fall into the ‘radical’ category…they seem more like housekeeping (if you’ll forgive the pun), though, the reaction of Landlords is ‘radical’ but then it always is, so nothing new to see here folks..

  16. millsy 16

    I read both articles. I think the proposals that Jacinda wanted are bigger than these, and will not be revealed till the middle of year.

  17. Jacinda has condemned NZ to being a society of property owners and renters (homeless).

    What a great caring society she has fostered.

  18. " From all sides, now, comes word of the imminence of “something big” being announced. The Labour caucus is said to be both “nervous” and “excited”

    What an utter joke , the Social Democrat caucus have no idea how compromised that entire party and government is in delivering anything remotely close to what really needs to be done.

    Only a real Labour party would already know and be carrying it out.

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    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    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
    3 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    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
    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 ...
    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
    5 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    13 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    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
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  • 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 ...
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  • 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 ...
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    6 days ago
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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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  • Trustee tax change welcomed
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  • Minister’s Ramadan message
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  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
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