Spending Brown

Written By: - Date published: 2:41 pm, December 13th, 2010 - 49 comments
Categories: auckland supercity, election funding, len brown, rodney hide - Tags:

So ACT, through Rodney (who’s so careful with the taxpayer’s money) and Jami-Lee Ross, are trying to make an issue with Len Brown’s spending.

The TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre decided to allow candidates to use its billboard space and Brown did?  Shocking!

He accepted $15,000 donation from SkyCity (but doesn’t change his “strong views on gambling”)?  More shocking that Banks also accepted the $15,000 from SkyCity and it didn’t show up in his accounts.

But the most shocking fact to me?  Banks spent $948,937 to Brown’s $581,900 and couldn’t even get close to the SuperCity Rodney and National had designed for him to run.  Ouch, I guess you can see why Rodney’s hurt.

There are questions about big corporate money getting into local government in a non-transparent manner and the influence it has, which should be fixed.  But Brown is not the one at fault here – it’s the system that Rodney designed, so it’s rich for him to then ensure it’s complained about when it funds the Left’s candidate as well as the Right’s.

.

And finally, because I’ve been reading too much Dr Seuss recently and now everything comes out in his poetic meter:

Mr Brown came to town,
Mr Brown did not frown,
Did not frown did Mr Brown,
But turned Hide’s plan upside down.

49 comments on “Spending Brown ”

  1. Sam 1

    “But Brown is not the one at fault here.”

    No, he is at fault.

    Len Brown made a choice to accept secret money.

    And he did.

  2. Herododus 2

    The TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre decided to allow candidates to use its billboard space and Brown did? Shocking!
    Bunji- a I hope that all this spin does not make the head see stars, or are you playing Wibbly wobbly ?(a game that was common at Ken Maunder Park).
    Was this offer extended to all canditates, and by what authority was this support given ? Now as I understand Mr Jefferies (CEO of the Event centre) was also part of Mayor Browns team, and now a counter balance to Rodneys board appointments? So there was a CCO using subsidised ratepayers money to supporting a specific canditate.
    How come when a \”non committed ??\” left wing canditate pushes the rules it is the system at fault, yet when a right wing person pushed the rules everythng is rotten to the core?
    Some balance required please.

    • Pascal's bookie 2.1

      Read the links herod.

      • Herododus 2.1.1

        Re Brown is not at fault here.How is that? The PEC is a council setup entity, that has struggled to breakeven and went out 9 years ago for corporate sponsorship (Which in Nov 10 for many the final payment of sponsorship was made)
        PB this post states/implies “The TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre decided to allow candidates to use its billboard space and Brown did? Shocking!” As I asked was this offer extended to all canditates? And Mr Jeferies CEO was in positions that could be considered in conflict on what now is 3 levels, CEO, Browns mayoral team and now as an oppointed CCO board member. On this site there has been when there is a conflict of interest that this be questioned. Why are not the same high standards now being expressed towards “Our mayor” and/or Mr Jefferies, is it not a worry for a council entity to support candiates at an election: either finacially or in services propvided?
        For me all this is countering the other sides spin, especially as on the surface “our” team is not 100% clean.

        • Pascal's bookie 2.1.1.1

          The post also contains some of that strange blue text. They ‘link’ to other pages on this WWW thing. I assume those links get there on purpose, rather than by accident.

          • Herododus 2.1.1.1.1

            You mean categories???
            Or to NZ herald and red Alert. (I have read these).
            Still there is on the surface a conflict that requires an answer. the answer may satisfy the questions being asked. But how do we know????
            And the post contains spin to lessen the effect of this conflict. Imagine the reverse and say Watercare assisting Banks in his campaign, and the outcry that would be heard (perhaps not from the NZ Herald) but there would be comments posted.

        • Swampy 2.1.1.2

          A bill board is worth money
          Remember bob Clarkson in Tauranga had to account for his free billboards

          When they say “it had to be put in as a value because it has a value” that is nonsense
          It had to be put in as a value because the events centre lost the use of that bill board for the time Brown was using it

    • Bunji 2.2

      No, I think the system needs transforming. When Rodney was pushing the spending limits out to a ridiculous level, allowing third parties free reign and removing requirements of transparency, I was against all that, and my parliamentary submission on the bill said so. Only small donations should be allowed to be anonymous.

      But Len was going to have a lot less money as it was, so to reduce his funds massively by allowing Banks to have all the corporate greed he wanted, but for Len to not have any company cash is expecting the ridiculous, and would allow the right to buy the election as was their original plan. He hopefully won’t be beholden to it, but I’m all for fixing the local government election law.

      On your other point Richard Jeffrey has got a board appointment on the tourism & events board – he would seem overly qualified for the role. He alone was not responsible for the decision to the billboard space, it was a Counties-Manukau Pacific Trust Board decision – a board that included amongst others a former National MP… so probably the decision to allow “whoever asked” billboard space was legit as the mayoral spokesman says.

      • Herododus 2.2.1

        Bunji- was this offer extended to all and how was this given?-(If so I will creep back into my hole and accept that it was legit and all had the same opportunity) Though I still have an issue with CCO’s and the like taking positions. Or was it that if anyone asked we (PEC) would accommodate, BUt will not make it known that this is our policy, in reality giving Len an advantage, especially when given the large exposure from the motorway given The PEC location. It also raises a question that Transfund (Or who ever they are this week) has strick rules on billboards etc on the motorway. Especially due to diverting Drivers attention. e.g signs containing www address, phone nos, size etc. (I take it that the advertising was facing SH1 and not Gt Sth Rd.)
        I am also sure that Mr Jeffery has skills that would enable such an appointment (and I have some contact with Mr J ), it is just that such appoinments raise the question to be asked (and we should be able to ask the question), the same for ex MP’s.

        • Bunji 2.2.1.1

          I don’t know the details of how the offer was given, Herod.

          Councils provide space for all candidates to have boards up, so it’s not really out of line with that though I would suggest.

          It is tricky with many of the board appointments going to ex-executives of the former councils etc – seems a money-go-round, but they are also the most obviously qualified people for the job, with knowledge of how the system currently works, and a proven track record of doing the job required… So I guess fair enough that questions are asked, but they probably have legitimate answers…

          • Herododus 2.2.1.1.1

            “Councils provide space for all candidates to have boards up, so it’s not really out of line with that though I would suggest.”
            Yes councils do allow their land to be used in this manner for both local and central elections. But the do not charge for this. So as PEC have made a donation (That appears to be in lieu for advertising space – a commercial activity for the centre) that this is different to that of just making the land available for one and all. If there is nothing in it then for someone within PEC to come out and say so. The longer they leave it the more it appears to be self interest, mates looking after mates and come tomorrow perceptions will be entrenched. I am no spin dr but the easiest way to kill a false story is to correct the facts,……. yesterday!!!
            And re My J appointment into CCO’s have no prblem IF he is appropiate for the role (and abit of divine justice in rebalancing out the appoinments by both spectrums)

            • Bunji 2.2.1.1.1.1

              The “donation” was free billboard space – but as the trust is set up as a private entity it has to be given a monetary value. It would be the same value on council land, but it doesn’t need accounting for. As far as correcting facts, they’ve come out and said “it was available for all”, so I don’t really see what more they have to say.

              • Herododus

                How can billboard space be available to all if it is the site that faces the motorway. there is only 1 billboard from memory. To add to this space (i.e addtional signage)takes time for council resource consents to be processed and Transfund approval. Sorry to disagree this is not the same as on council land, as MCC does not have private billboard space to rent out. It may have been available for all, but that does not mean that the others would have been given it for “free”, this quote is just a play on words. Banks and co may have had the opportunity to use this, was this also at no cost? There are more questions as time goes on, with no satisfactory answers being given. But hey “our” team won who cares about the rules. As said before if the shoe was on the other foot all hell would be released on this site towards banks.
                There was an opportunity cost associated to this that has a cash consequence. the centre has had a chequered history regarding its funding (does it make money or not) and promises that no council money would go into this and yet there is council subsidies.

      • Swampy 2.2.2

        ISnt there any existing law for local government elections
        You seem to say they made up new laws just for Auckland

        • lprent 2.2.2.1

          Correct.. There were three bills passed last year just for Auckland. Substantial amounts of the law on local actions was changed including the spending limits, ward boundaries, number of councils, number of councilors, the role if the various layers of the auckland local government. Most of it was crap we didn’t want, some bits were, but that arsehole Rodney and his minion Key stuffed them down our throats anyway.

          I’m sure you were leaving these late night streams then. Surely you must have read the posts?

  3. Bright Red 3

    both Banks and Brown (and Parker) used trusts.

    I would think that you actually needs some kind of financial vehicle independent of the candidates’ personal finances for these large campaigns.

    Political parties have their own accounts but independent candidates at local level don’t have party structures to use.

  4. Colonial Viper 4

    Total spending by any candidate in any campaign needs to be capped and capped relatively low.

    You see the corrosive effect in the US where senators etc have to go cap in hand to big corporates for money to be able to even have a chance in their multimillion dollar races.

  5. Roger 5

    “He accepted $15,000 donation from SkyCity (but doesn’t change his “strong views on gambling”)? More shocking that Banks also accepted the $15,000 from SkyCity and it didn’t show up in his accounts.”

    I wonder if this is a standard US corporate ploy where a less than socially desirable outfit fund both campaigns but do so in a way that the candidate they want to win is left better off. By funding their right leaning candidate in a way that it won’t show up, but funding the left leaning candidate in a way that it will show up; either their candidate gets in, or the other candidate can easily be smeared, presented as a hypocrite, and eventually voted out so that their candidate can push through favourable policies (for the company doing the funding).

    The company comes up smelling like roses since they can say they were just sponsoring the democratic process.

  6. Bunji 6

    Some more figures:

    Spending cap for last 3 months: $579,560

    Brown – $581,900 spent in total (edit: donated in total – and presumably mostly spent)
    $499,000 anonymous
    $390,761 spent in last 3 months
    237,487 votes

    Colin Craig – $569,321 spent in total – with no donations declared (entirely self-funded?)
    42,598 votes

    Banks – $948,937 spent in total (edit: donated in total – and presumably mostly spent)
    $624,012 anonymous or with no name attached (apparently different…)
    $87,000 his own money
    $554,958 spent in last 3 months
    171,542 votes

    edit: donations only include those of $1000 and over

    • AndyB 6.1

      please change that to:

      banks – declared $948,937 in donations and $554,958 spending

      not $948,937 spent. never get a miss-truth get in the way of a good story huh?

      • Colonial Viper 6.1.1

        What happened to that $394K surplus?

      • Bunji 6.1.2

        I believe I’ve got $554,958 spent in last 3 months (ie “the electoral period”) – there was a lot of advertising and spending going on 1 year in advance of the elections. Those massive billboards he had up for the whole year don’t come cheap. Bill Ralston’s services probably don’t either…

        And this was the man who gave up his Auckland mayoral salary to pay for his own political adviser (like that was a great benefit to the ratepayers of Auckland).

        You don’t donate $87k to your own campaign to cover a surplus.

        • AndyB 6.1.2.1

          cheers … didn’t mean to sound too cocky, apologies. i was just going off the herald article that stated the spending caps so i initially thought you deliberately misrepresented the figures for effect.

          hate banksie, he is far too cocky for his own good. so more than happy for him to be gone. i just wish the right had come up with a better candidate. never mind … next time.

      • lprent 6.1.3

        I’ll let bunji change it or argue it when he sees it.

        But it is an interesting question that because of the funding limits we will probably never know – how much was actually spent.

        But the nett effect is also pretty clear at least for this election. The amount of money spent on the Auckland 2010 in total is just outright crazy. The dollars per vote cast in the mayoral race is also crazy. Buying votes did not work.

        However this was an exceptional election. People were a wee bit pissed from both the right, left, and everywhere else about Rodney and NACT’s idiotic super-city scheme that ignored the wishes of Aucklanders. The gerrymander didn’t work largely because voters deliberately voted against it.

        You can see why Rodney is pissed. It shows him as being an incompetent politician who couldn’t carry the voters with his great idea – he tried to jam them into his preferred straightjacket and they subverted the design . But it was rather obvious that Rodney was better in opposition than government before this fiasco.

        • Herododus 6.1.3.1

          At least we are not here yet …
          From a business sense I would love to see the financial feasibilty to justify these spends. There must be some money for Senators/Congress positions.
          Unfortunately we set the rules and political parties just display contempt.. remember 2005 pledge card or GST issues anyone ???
          Easiest way to comply with the rules … have none, but that creates other issues.
          Another problem no matter who is inpower, justy watch CYPs, action against violence etc on TV adds. Displaying an indirect message to the public by the govt. look at what we are doing for society and you… we care. the spend on govt depts in the last few election years has increased. Actions like this are not counted but do give the incumbent govt an advantage.
          http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/article/535566/Money-for-Nothing%3A-Whitman,-Fiorina-and-McMahon-Burn-Nearly-$200M

  7. bobo 7

    Not the best judgement from Brown accepting the 15k I agree… But Wodney is laughable trying to kick up over this with his track record on rorting and dishonesty.

    • TightyRighty 7.1

      the 15k is nothing. It’s the 3375 from the Events centre, whose staff then go on to have positions on CCO’s despite the fact they operated at a stupendous losss.

      • bobo 7.1.1

        Wodneys just pissed off his powergrab for Auckland backfired or maybe he wants a position on a CCO after the next election if he doesn’t get back in? Surely he is planning for his life after ACT with a mini-me on the way?

        • George.com 7.1.1.1

          Maybe Rodney should perhaps spent his time ensuring Ministers and Ministers use tax payer subsidised flights correctly. Maybe break his silence over what looks, on face value, to be misconduct with government spending. I wonder why Rodney isn’t referring thisto the auditor-general. 9 letter word beginning with H and ending in Y with a C in the middle?

  8. Graeme 8

    who owns lenny?

  9. Carol 9

    DF is just on Mora’s afternoon RNZ show, saying he’s been on the case trying to find out Brown’s “secret” funding…huh?! Did I miss where DF has been trying as hard to get NAct to be more transparent about their funding/trusts etc?

    Oh, and DF is saying if Brwn is not careful he will end up with a brand of secrecy….. and yet NAct out does all that & more on secrecy & lack of transparency. Come on, Mora, where’s your scrutiny of DF on this?

    • Pascal's bookie 9.1

      Though to be fair, he did come right out and say that the Waitemata Trust is a bloody dodgy look both for the donors and the National party and that no one can be sure whether or not the National Party introduces various bits of legislation in return for Waitemata trust donations. He didn’t say national actually do this policy for cash business, but he flat out said it’s a possibility and that no one can know fer sure and that them thar Waitemata trust is dodgy as all hell.

      Well, he didn’t say it as such, but he totes implied it pretty directly but possibly by accident.

  10. Sanctuary 10

    Why do you bother with listening to nMora? He is an intellectually lazy and smug bastard who does all his research on kiwiblog, and although he frequently calls on David Farrar he consistently fails to reveal Farrar’s extensive political connections to the National party and government- an omission of Mora’s which to my mind amounts to an oging, deliberate attempt to deceive and mislead his audience.

    Recently, Mora got very aggresive very quickly when challenged by Gordon Campbell about his biases and right wing spin. His aggressive reaction to being challenged (typical of fundys like Mora) told me everything I needed to know about how thin his affable veneer is before his deep and nasty prejudices are exposed, and how deliberate is his propagandizing on his show, and I’ve simply stopped listening to his bullshit.

    • TightyRighty 10.1

      how do you feel about kim hill?

    • Carol 10.2

      I don’t listen to him that often these days – usually only when I’m interested in his guests. But this arvo I was listening to him in the car on the drive home from the train station. Have switched off since as I can’t be bothered with these guests. But DF’s biases were sooooo glaring.

  11. Rodel 11

    The main thing is that awful Banks person got wasted.
    It’s not right, but boy as an Auckland resident I’m sooooo glad!

  12. Jeremy Harris 12

    What a ridiculous apologists post, the leftist post you were looking for was:

    This stinks

    After the 2005 election, public outrage over the National Party’s habit of laundering their donations through a secret trust boiled over. The result was the Electoral Finance Act, which (among other things) broke the veil of secrecy around trusts, forcing those who transmit donations to political parties and candidates to identify who they are transmitting them for. While the Act has been repealed, this rule was retained, politicians accepting that the higher degree of transparency was required to retain public confidence in the political system.

    Except it wasn’t just national-level politicians playing these games. There have also been problems with trusts in local body politics. In Christchurch, Mayor Bob Parker laundered his donations through a trust, granting secrecy to his donors. Given the secretive way he has run the council, and the dodgy property deals it has engaged in under his watch, we cannot be sure that they are not getting payback. Wellington mayor Kerry Prendergast and Hamilton mayor Bob Simcock did likewise. In Palmerston North, Mayor Jono Naylor tried to do the same, but was thwarted when someone leaked his secret donor list. It turned out that his primary donor was a wealthy property developer, and that he had already received his payback in the form of a significant planning change, without the conflict of interest being declared. Preventing that sort of corruption is exactly why we require donations to be disclosed in the first place.

    And now, Auckland Supermayor Len Brown has joined the club, laundering almost half a million – 80% of his total – through a trust to hide the identity of his donors. The result is that we do not know who he his beholden to, and what council decisions he should be stepping aside from to avoid the perception of corruption. And this is simply not acceptable.

    (John Banks did the same, BTW, so we’d be having this conversation regardless of who had won).

    Politicians have accepted that the age of laundered donations is over. Its time we applied the same rules to local body politics. We have a right to know that our local government decisions are above board and free of corruption. And we cannot do that as long as there are large secret donors, their identities protected by trusts.

    http://norightturn.blogspot.com/2010/12/this-stinks.html

    I don’t often agree with I/S but at least he’s consistent… The outrage is the donation from the events theatre, not much better than theft and outright corruption that…

  13. Logie97 13

    Now let’s see what big projects Len could have been tainted with.
    There’s the The Rapid Rail business – Tranz Metro flushed with cash??? Construction companies??? How about a Chinese Hovercraft Company???

    Nah, don’t think so.

    What about planning approval for Mega-Churches. Flipping hell. Might be something there. A few of their Pastors are flushed with the folding…

    • Herododus 13.1

      For those you think that it was Ok as both Banks and Brown were given funds thru anomalous sources. Now every non notified resource consent, developments that are against town planning rules could be inferred to have special treatment. The same would be applicable to Banks.
      How do we not know in future when cases (as linked below arise) and questions are asked. For 99+% of the cases there is nothing sinister, and even the 1% is most probably not connected, yet there is always that doubt, and this is where anomalous sourced funds have issues- it destroys peoples confidence in the system. 🙁
      And good on idiot/savant for calling it as it is, and not excusing anyones actions like some !!!
      http://www.nzherald.co.nz/auckland-city-council/news/article.cfm?o_id=13&objectid=10615791

      [lprent: Corrected one wee typo. I don’t think you meant to say that I/S was a goon 🙂 ]

  14. Irascible 14

    When I see that J Lee-Ross is at the bottom of the scandal whipping and that R Hide is joining in the chorus I smell a huge rat. This campaign funding attack on Len Brown is but a continuation of the baseless “credit card scandal” that Quax & Ross were behind at the beginning of the campaign.
    I wonder if there are any connections between Lee-Ross and Pansy that might lead one to suspect that this is a NACT diversionary tactic to divert the media from Wong-gate??

  15. tc 15

    mmmm that’s the smell of fear rising in NACT land as their attempt to engineer a right wing council to match their supercity model failed miserably and the consequences could be very telling in next years election.

    Interesting to see Cameron Brewer grandstanding on some art deco buildings in St Heliers the former council (JBanks’s council) have given a developer a green light to demolish…..good luck with that Cameron who you gonna blame this time ?

Links to post

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

  • Clued Up: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    “But, that’s the thing, mate, isn’t it? We showed ourselves to be nothing more useful than a bunch of angry old men, shaking our fists at the sky. Were we really that angry at Labour and the Greens? Or was it just the inescapable fact of our own growing irrelevancy ...
    1 hour ago
  • JERRY COYNE: A powerful University dean in New Zealand touts merging higher education with indigeno...
    Jerry Coyne writes –  This article from New Zealand’s Newsroom site was written by Julie Rowland,  the deputy dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Auckland as well as a geologist and the Director of the Ngā Ara Whetū | Centre for Climate, Biodiversity & Society. In other ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 hours ago
  • Ain't nobody gonna steal this heart away.
    Ain't nobody gonna steal this heart away.For the last couple of weeks its felt as though all the good things in our beautiful land are under attack.These isles in the southern Pacific. The home of the Māori people. A land of easy going friendliness, openness, and she’ll be right. A ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    10 hours ago
  • Speaking for the future
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.MondayYou cannot be seriousOne might think, god, people who are seeing all this must be regretting their vote.But one might be mistaken.There are people whose chief priority is not wanting to be ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    10 hours ago
  • How Should We Organise a Modern Economy?
    Alan Bollard, formerly Treasury Secretary, Reserve Bank Governor and Chairman of APEC, has written an insightful book exploring command vs demand approaches to the economy. The Cold War included a conflict about ideas; many were economic. Alan Bollard’s latest book Economists in the Cold War focuses on the contribution of ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    23 hours ago
  • Willis fails a taxing app-titude test but govt supporters will cheer moves on Te Pukenga and the Hum...
    Buzz from the Beehive The Minister of Defence has returned from Noumea to announce New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting and (wearing another ministerial hat) to condemn malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government. A bigger cheer from people who voted for the Luxon ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 day ago
  • ELIZABETH RATA: In defence of the liberal university and against indigenisation
    The suppression of individual thought in our universities spills over into society, threatening free speech everywhere. Elizabeth Rata writes –  Indigenising New Zealand’s universities is well underway, presumably with the agreement of University Councils and despite the absence of public discussion. Indigenising, under the broader umbrella of decolonisation, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the skewed media coverage of Gaza
    Now that he’s back as Foreign Minister, maybe Winston Peters should start reading the MFAT website. If he did, Peters would find MFAT celebrating the 25th anniversary of how New Zealand alerted the rest of the world to the genocide developing in Rwanda. Quote: New Zealand played an important role ...
    1 day ago
  • “Your Circus, Your Clowns.”
    It must have been a hard first couple of weeks for National voters, since the coalition was announced. Seeing their party make so many concessions to New Zealand First and ACT that there seems little remains of their own policies, other than the dwindling dream of tax cuts and the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • Weekly Roundup 8-December-2023
    It’s Friday again and Christmas is fast approaching. Here’s some of the stories that caught our attention. This week in Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt covered some of the recent talk around the costs, benefits and challenges with the City Rail Link. On Thursday Matt looked at how ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 day ago
  • End-of-week escapism
    Amsterdam to Hong Kong William McCartney16,000 kilometres41 days18 trains13 countries11 currencies6 long-distance taxis4 taxi apps4 buses3 sim cards2 ferries1 tram0 medical events (surprisingly)Episode 4Whether the Sofia-Istanbul Express really qualifies to be called an express is debatable, but it’s another one of those likeably old and slow trains tha… ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 day ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Dec 8
    Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro arrives for the State Opening of Parliament (Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)TL;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:New Finance Minister Nicola Willis set herself a ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • New Zealand’s Witchcraft Laws: 1840/1858-1961/1962
    Sometimes one gets morbidly curious about the oddities of one’s own legal system. Sometimes one writes entire essays on New Zealand’s experience with Blasphemous Libel: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2017/05/09/blasphemous-libel-new-zealand-politics/ And sometimes one follows up the exact historical status of witchcraft law in New Zealand. As one does, of course. ...
    2 days ago
  • No surprises
    Don’t expect any fiscal shocks or surprises when the books are opened on December 20 with the unveiling of the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU). That was the message yesterday from Westpac in an economic commentary. But the bank’s analysis did not include any changes to capital ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #49 2023
    113 articles in 48 journals by 674 contributing authors Physical science of climate change, effects Diversity of Lagged Relationships in Global Means of Surface Temperatures and Radiative Budgets for CMIP6 piControl Simulations, Tsuchida et al., Journal of Climate 10.1175/jcli-d-23-0045.1 Do abrupt cryosphere events in High Mountain Asia indicate earlier tipping ...
    2 days ago
  • Phone calls at Kia Kaha primary
    It is quiet reading time in Room 13! It is so quiet you can hear the Tui outside. It is so quiet you can hear the Fulton Hogan crew.It is so quiet you can hear old Mr Grant and old Mr Bradbury standing by the roadworks and counting the conesand going on ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • A question of confidence is raised by the Minister of Police, but he had to be questioned by RNZ to ...
    It looks like the new ministerial press secretaries have quickly learned the art of camouflaging exactly what their ministers are saying – or, at least, of keeping the hard news  out of the headlines and/or the opening sentences of the statements they post on the home page of the governments ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago
  • Xmas  good  cheer  for the dairy industry  as Fonterra lifts its forecast
    The big dairy co-op Fonterra  had  some Christmas  cheer to offer  its farmers this week, increasing its forecast farmgate milk price and earnings guidance for  the year after what it calls a strong start to the year. The forecast  midpoint for the 2023/24 season is up 25cs to $7.50 per ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • MICHAEL BASSETT: Modern Maori myths
    Michael Bassett writes – Many of the comments about the Coalition’s determination to wind back the dramatic Maorification of New Zealand of the last three years would have you believe the new government is engaged in a full-scale attack on Maori. In reality, all that is happening ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago
  • Dreams of eternal sunshine at a spotless COP28
    Mary Robinson asked Al Jaber a series of very simple, direct and highly pertinent questions and he responded with a high-octane public meltdown. Photos: Getty Images / montage: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR The hygiene effects of direct sunshine are making some inroads, perhaps for the very first time, on the normalised ‘deficit ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • LINDSAY MITCHELL: Oh, the irony
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Appointed by new Labour PM Jacinda Ardern in 2018, Cindy Kiro headed the Welfare Expert Advisory Group (WEAG) tasked with reviewing and recommending reforms to the welfare system. Kiro had been Children’s Commissioner during Helen Clark’s Labour government but returned to academia subsequently. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Transport Agencies don’t want Harbour Tunnels
    It seems even our transport agencies don’t want Labour’s harbour crossing plans. In August the previous government and Waka Kotahi announced their absurd preferred option the new harbour crossing that at the time was estimated to cost $35-45 billion. It included both road tunnels and a wiggly light rail tunnel ...
    2 days ago
  • Webworm Presents: Jurassic Park on 35mm
    Hi,Paying Webworm members such as yourself keep this thing running, so as 2023 draws to close, I wanted to do two things to say a giant, loud “THANKS”. Firstly — I’m giving away 10 Mister Organ blu-rays in New Zealand, and another 10 in America. More details down below.Secondly — ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • The Prime Minister's Dream.
    Yesterday saw the State Opening of Parliament, the Speech from the Throne, and then Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s dream for Aotearoa in his first address. But first the pomp and ceremony, the arrival of the Governor General.Dame Cindy Kiro arrived on the forecourt outside of parliament to a Māori welcome. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • National’s new MP; the proud part-Maori boy raised in a state house
    Probably not since 1975 have we seen a government take office up against such a wall of protest and complaint. That was highlighted yesterday, the day that the new Parliament was sworn in, with news that King Tuheitia has called a national hui for late January to develop a ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • Climate Adam: Battlefield Earth – How War Fuels Climate Catastrophe
    This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). War, conflict and climate change are tearing apart lives across the world. But these aren't separate harms - they're intricately connected. ...
    3 days ago
  • They do not speak for us, and they do not speak for the future
    These dire woeful and intolerant people have been so determinedly going about their small and petulant business, it’s hard to keep up. At the end of the new government’s first woeful week, Audrey Young took the time to count off its various acts of denigration of Te Ao Māori:Review the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Another attack on te reo
    The new white supremacist government made attacking te reo a key part of its platform, promising to rename government agencies and force them to "communicate primarily in English" (which they already do). But today they've gone further, by trying to cut the pay of public servants who speak te reo: ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • For the record, the Beehive buzz can now be regarded as “official”
    Buzz from the Beehive The biggest buzz we bring you from the Beehive today is that the government’s official website is up and going after being out of action for more than a week. The latest press statement came  from  Education Minister  Eric Stanford, who seized on the 2022 PISA ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Climate Change: Failed again
    There was another ETS auction this morning. and like all the other ones this year, it failed to clear - meaning that 23 million tons of carbon (15 million ordinary units plus 8 million in the cost containment reserve) went up in smoke. Or rather, they didn't. Being unsold at ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Government’s Assault On Maori
    This isn’t news, but the National-led coalition is mounting a sustained assault on Treaty rights and obligations. Even so, Christopher Luxon has described yesterday’s nationwide protests by Maori as “pretty unfair.” Poor thing. In the NZ Herald, Audrey Young has compiled a useful list of the many, many ways that ...
    3 days ago
  • Rising costs hit farmers hard, but  there’s more  positive news  for  them this  week 
    New Zealand’s dairy industry, the mainstay of the country’s export trade, has  been under  pressure  from rising  costs. Down on the  farm, this  has  been  hitting  hard. But there  was more positive news this week,  first   from the latest Fonterra GDT auction where  prices  rose,  and  then from  a  report ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    3 days ago
  • ROB MacCULLOCH:  Newshub and NZ Herald report misleading garbage about ACT’s van Veldon not follo...
    Rob MacCulloch writes –  In their rush to discredit the new government (which our MainStream Media regard as illegitimate and having no right to enact the democratic will of voters) the NZ Herald and Newshub are arguing ACT’s Deputy Leader Brooke van Veldon is not following Treasury advice ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Top 10 for Wednesday, December 6
    Even many young people who smoke support smokefree policies, fitting in with previous research showing the large majority of people who smoke regret starting and most want to quit. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Wednesday, December ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Eleven years of work.
    Well it didn’t take six months, but the leaks have begun. Yes the good ship Coalition has inadvertently released a confidential cabinet paper into the public domain, discussing their axing of Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs).Oops.Just when you were admiring how smoothly things were going for the new government, they’ve had ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Why we're missing out on sharply lower inflation
    A wave of new and higher fees, rates and charges will ripple out over the economy in the next 18 months as mayors, councillors, heads of department and price-setters for utilities such as gas, electricity, water and parking ramp up charges. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Just when most ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • How Did We Get Here?
    Hi,Kiwis — keep the evening of December 22nd free. I have a meetup planned, and will send out an invite over the next day or so. This sounds sort of crazy to write, but today will be Tony Stamp’s final Totally Normal column of 2023. Somehow we’ve made it to ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    3 days ago
  • At a glance – Has the greenhouse effect been falsified?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    4 days ago
  • New Zealaders  have  high expectations of  new  government:  now let’s see if it can deliver?
    The electorate has high expectations of the  new  government.  The question is: can  it  deliver?    Some  might  say  the  signs are not  promising. Protestors   are  already marching in the streets. The  new  Prime Minister has had  little experience of managing  very diverse politicians  in coalition. The economy he  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    4 days ago
  • You won't believe some of the numbers you have to pull when you're a Finance Minister
    Nicola of Marsden:Yo, normies! We will fix your cost of living worries by giving you a tax cut of 150 dollars. 150! Cash money! Vote National.Various people who can read and count:Actually that's 150 over a fortnight. Not a week, which is how you usually express these things.And actually, it looks ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • Pushback
    When this government came to power, it did so on an explicitly white supremacist platform. Undermining the Waitangi Tribunal, removing Māori representation in local government, over-riding the courts which had tried to make their foreshore and seabed legislation work, eradicating te reo from public life, and ultimately trying to repudiate ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Defence ministerial meeting meant Collins missed the Maori Party’s mischief-making capers in Parli...
    Buzz from the Beehive Maybe this is not the best time for our Minister of Defence to have gone overseas. Not when the Maori Party is inviting (or should that be inciting?) its followers to join a revolution in a post which promoted its protest plans with a picture of ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • Threats of war have been followed by an invitation to join the revolution – now let’s see how th...
     A Maori Party post on Instagram invited party followers to ….  Tangata Whenua, Tangata Tiriti, Join the REVOLUTION! & make a stand!  Nationwide Action Day, All details in tiles swipe to see locations.  • This is our 1st hit out and tomorrow Tuesday the 5th is the opening ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Top 10 for Tuesday, December 4
    The RBNZ governor is citing high net migration and profit-led inflation as factors in the bank’s hawkish stance. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Tuesday, December 5, including:Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr says high net migration and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Nicola Willis' 'show me the money' moment
    Willis has accused labour of “economic vandalism’, while Robertson described her comments as a “desperate diversion from somebody who can't make their tax package add up”. There will now be an intense focus on December 20 to see whether her hyperbole is backed up by true surprises. Photo montage: Lynn ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • CRL costs money but also provides huge benefits
    The City Rail Link has been in the headlines a bit recently so I thought I’d look at some of them. First up, yesterday the NZ Herald ran this piece about the ongoing costs of the CRL. Auckland ratepayers will be saddled with an estimated bill of $220 million each ...
    4 days ago
  • And I don't want the world to see us.
    Is this the most shambolic government in the history of New Zealand? Given that parliament hasn’t even opened they’ve managed quite a list of achievements to date.The Smokefree debacle trading lives for tax cuts, the Trumpian claims of bribery in the Media, an International award for indifference, and today the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Cooking the books
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis late yesterday stopped only slightly short of accusing her predecessor Grant Robertson of cooking the books. She complained that the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), due to be made public on December 20, would show “fiscal cliffs” that would amount to “billions of ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Most people don’t realize how much progress we’ve made on climate change
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The year was 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars was at the top of the music charts. Jurassic World was the most popular new movie in theaters. And decades of futility in international climate negotiations was about to come to an end in ...
    5 days ago
  • Of Parliamentary Oaths and Clive Boonham
    As a heads-up, I am not one of those people who stay awake at night thinking about weird Culture War nonsense. At least so far as the current Maori/Constitutional arrangements go. In fact, I actually consider it the least important issue facing the day to day lives of New ...
    5 days ago
  • Bearing True Allegiance?
    Strong Words: “We do not consent, we do not surrender, we do not cede, we do not submit; we, the indigenous, are rising. We do not buy into the colonial fictions this House is built upon. Te Pāti Māori pledges allegiance to our mokopuna, our whenua, and Te Tiriti o ...
    5 days ago
  • You cannot be serious
    Some days it feels like the only thing to say is: Seriously? No, really. Seriously?OneSomeone has used their health department access to share data about vaccinations and patients, and inform the world that New Zealanders have been dying in their hundreds of thousands from the evil vaccine. This of course is pure ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • A promise kept: govt pulls the plug on Lake Onslow scheme – but this saving of $16bn is denounced...
    Buzz from the Beehive After $21.8 million was spent on investigations, the plug has been pulled on the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro electricity scheme, The scheme –  that technically could have solved New Zealand’s looming energy shortage, according to its champions – was a key part of the defeated Labour government’s ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER: The Maori Party and Oath of Allegiance
    If those elected to the Māori Seats refuse to take them, then what possible reason could the country have for retaining them?   Chris Trotter writes – Christmas is fast approaching, which, as it does every year, means gearing up for an abstruse general knowledge question. “Who was ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON:  Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies. Brian Easton writes The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Climate Change: Fossils
    When the new government promised to allow new offshore oil and gas exploration, they were warned that there would be international criticism and reputational damage. Naturally, they arrogantly denied any possibility that that would happen. And then they finally turned up at COP, to criticism from Palau, and a "fossil ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • GEOFFREY MILLER:  NZ’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    Geoffrey Miller writes – New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the government’s smokefree laws debacle
    The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out – for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable ...
    5 days ago
  • Top 10 links at 10 am for Monday, December 4
    As Deb Te Kawa writes in an op-ed, the new Government seems to have immediately bought itself fights with just about everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Monday December 4, including:Palau’s President ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Be Honest.
    Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Auckland rail tunnel the world’s most expensive
    Auckland’s city rail link is the most expensive rail project in the world per km, and the CRL boss has described the cost of infrastructure construction in Aotearoa as a crisis. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The 3.5 km City Rail Link (CRL) tunnel under Auckland’s CBD has cost ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • First big test coming
    The first big test of the new Government’s approach to Treaty matters is likely to be seen in the return of the Resource Management Act. RMA Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed that he intends to introduce legislation to repeal Labour’s recently passed Natural and Built Environments Act and its ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • The Song of Saqua: Volume III
    Time to revisit something I haven’t covered in a while: the D&D campaign, with Saqua the aquatic half-vampire. Last seen in July: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/07/27/the-song-of-saqua-volume-ii/ The delay is understandable, once one realises that the interim saw our DM come down with a life-threatening medical situation. They have since survived to make ...
    6 days ago
  • Chris Bishop: Smokin’
    Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    6 days ago
  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 26, 2023 thru Dec 2, 2023. Story of the Week CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate change Daily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more ...
    6 days ago
  • Affirmative Action.
    Affirmative Action was a key theme at this election, although I don’t recall anyone using those particular words during the campaign.They’re positive words, and the way the topic was talked about was anything but. It certainly wasn’t a campaign of saying that Affirmative Action was a good thing, but that, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • 100 days of something
    It was at the end of the Foxton straights, at the end of 1978, at 100km/h, that someone tried to grab me from behind on my Yamaha.They seemed to be yanking my backpack. My first thought was outrage. My second was: but how? Where have they come from? And my ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Look who’s stepped up to champion Winston
    There’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today  – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago
  • What's The Story?
    Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • The longest of weeks
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts to
    Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
    1 week ago
  • Under New Management
    1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • While we wait patiently, our new Minister of Education is up and going with a 100-day action plan
    Sorry to say, the government’s official website is still out of action. When Point of Order paid its daily visit, the message was the same as it has been for the past week: Site under maintenance Beehive.govt.nz is currently under maintenance. We will be back shortly. Thank you for your ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago
  • DAVID FARRAR: Hysterical bullshit
    Radio NZ reports: Te Pāti Māori’s co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer has accused the new government of “deliberate .. systemic genocide” over its policies to roll back the smokefree policy and the Māori Health Authority. The left love hysterical language. If you oppose racial quotas in laws, you are a racist. And now if you sack ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • Ministers visit Hawke’s Bay to grasp recovery needs
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon joined Cyclone Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell and Transport and Local Government Minister Simeon Brown, to meet leaders of cyclone and flood-affected regions in the Hawke’s Bay. The visit reinforced the coalition Government’s commitment to support the region and better understand its ongoing requirements, Mr Mitchell says.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • New Zealand condemns malicious cyber activity
    New Zealand has joined the UK and other partners in condemning malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government, Minister Responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau Judith Collins says. The statement follows the UK’s attribution today of malicious cyber activity impacting its domestic democratic institutions and processes, as well ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Disestablishment of Te Pūkenga begins
    The Government has begun the process of disestablishing Te Pūkenga as part of its 100-day plan, Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills Penny Simmonds says.  “I have started putting that plan into action and have met with the chair and chief Executive of Te Pūkenga to advise them of my ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Climate Change Minister to attend COP28 in Dubai
    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will be leaving for Dubai today to attend COP28, the 28th annual UN climate summit, this week. Simon Watts says he will push for accelerated action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, deliver New Zealand’s national statement and connect with partner countries, private sector leaders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • New Zealand to host 2024 Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins yesterday announced New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting (SPDMM). “Having just returned from this year’s meeting in Nouméa, I witnessed first-hand the value of meeting with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security and defence matters. I welcome the opportunity to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Study shows need to remove distractions in class
    The Government is committed to lifting school achievement in the basics and that starts with removing distractions so young people can focus on their learning, Education Minister Erica Stanford says.   The 2022 PISA results released this week found that Kiwi kids ranked 5th in the world for being distracted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Minister sets expectations of Commissioner
    Today I met with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to set out my expectations, which he has agreed to, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. Under section 16(1) of the Policing Act 2008, the Minister can expect the Police Commissioner to deliver on the Government’s direction and priorities, as now outlined in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • New Zealand needs a strong and stable ETS
    New Zealand needs a strong and stable Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that is well placed for the future, after emission units failed to sell for the fourth and final auction of the year, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.  At today’s auction, 15 million New Zealand units (NZUs) – each ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • PISA results show urgent need to teach the basics
    With 2022 PISA results showing a decline in achievement, Education Minister Erica Stanford is confident that the Coalition Government’s 100-day plan for education will improve outcomes for Kiwi kids.  The 2022 PISA results show a significant decline in the performance of 15-year-old students in maths compared to 2018 and confirms ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Collins leaves for Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins today departed for New Caledonia to attend the 8th annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM). “This meeting is an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security matters and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Pacific,” Judith Collins says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Working for Families gets cost of living boost
    Putting more money in the pockets of hard-working families is a priority of this Coalition Government, starting with an increase to Working for Families, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “We are starting our 100-day plan with a laser focus on bringing down the cost of living, because that is what ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Post-Cabinet press conference
    Most weeks, following Cabinet, the Prime Minister holds a press conference for members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery. This page contains the transcripts from those press conferences, which are supplied by Hansard to the Office of the Prime Minister. It is important to note that the transcripts have not been edited ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme scrapped
    The Government has axed the $16 billion Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme championed by the previous government, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says. “This hugely wasteful project was pouring money down the drain at a time when we need to be reining in spending and focussing on rebuilding the economy and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • NZ welcomes further pause in fighting in Gaza
    New Zealand welcomes the further one-day extension of the pause in fighting, which will allow the delivery of more urgently-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of more hostages, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. “The human cost of the conflict is horrific, and New Zealand wants to see the violence ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Condolences on passing of Henry Kissinger
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters today expressed on behalf of the New Zealand Government his condolences to the family of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who has passed away at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut. “While opinions on his legacy are varied, Secretary Kissinger was ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Backing our kids to learn the basics
    Every child deserves a world-leading education, and the Coalition Government is making that a priority as part of its 100-day plan. Education Minister Erica Stanford says that will start with banning cellphone use at school and ensuring all primary students spend one hour on reading, writing, and maths each day. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • US Business Summit Speech – Regional stability through trade
    I would like to begin by echoing the Prime Minister’s thanks to the organisers of this Summit, Fran O’Sullivan and the Auckland Business Chamber.  I want to also acknowledge the many leading exporters, sector representatives, diplomats, and other leaders we have joining us in the room. In particular, I would like ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Keynote Address to the United States Business Summit, Auckland
    Good morning. Thank you, Rosemary, for your warm introduction, and to Fran and Simon for this opportunity to make some brief comments about New Zealand’s relationship with the United States.  This is also a chance to acknowledge my colleague, Minister for Trade Todd McClay, Ambassador Tom Udall, Secretary of Foreign ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • India New Zealand Business Council Speech, India as a Strategic Priority
    Good morning, tēnā koutou and namaskar. Many thanks, Michael, for your warm welcome. I would like to acknowledge the work of the India New Zealand Business Council in facilitating today’s event and for the Council’s broader work in supporting a coordinated approach for lifting New Zealand-India relations. I want to also ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Coalition Government unveils 100-day plan
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has laid out the Coalition Government’s plan for its first 100 days from today. “The last few years have been incredibly tough for so many New Zealanders. People have put their trust in National, ACT and NZ First to steer them towards a better, more prosperous ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

Page generated in The Standard by Wordpress at 2023-12-09T04:15:39+00:00