Splits and divisions

Written By: - Date published: 1:53 pm, January 7th, 2009 - 57 comments
Categories: national - Tags:

Which MP only got his job by 39 votes?

Which former State house kid and brand-new Tory MP already has ambitions to be the next John Key?

Which National MP from a working-class background is going around telling people he opposes the 90 Day Fire at Will law and thinks rushing it through was a huge mistake but won’t say so in public to protect his career prospects?

How many others in the National caucus does he say also think Key has made a hash of things and will have to go if he can’t prove himself in the coming year?

57 comments on “Splits and divisions ”

  1. lukas 1

    My guess is SP will use the phrase- “Word around the traps is” or something to that effect and not give a shred of evidence to back up anything he just said other than the margin that the MP won by.

  2. Who is Aaron Gilmore?

  3. 8 & 4 3

    National’s leadership has been flat-footed on the Israel/Hamas issue (biggest story of 2009 so far). Goff and Clark have been all over it.

  4. sweeetdisorder 4

    8 & 4

    Everyone is still on holiday, or in holiday mode. Nobody gives a toss about this at the moment.

    As for biggest story of 2009, umm, it is only the 7th of Jan for fecks sake!!!! Suggest you, take some time out and go to the beach. Come back in Feb when the year really does begin.

  5. Whero 5

    Wouldn’t be “Double Dipper” Sam, would it?

  6. 8 & 4 6

    sweeetdisorder – I would take some time out at the beach, but my Hawaiian beach front holiday home is being renovated.

  7. Tigger 7

    The Nats continued silence over the Hamas mess is further proof that they have no clue how to handle international stuff. And clearly that comes from the top. Key isn’t a leader and he’s certainly not PM material. He won’t go until there is someone to take his place of course…and at the moment there isn’t.

    Wait until the economic climate starts to bite, unemployment rises and petrol goes through the roof again…then there will really be a mess to watch and pressure on Key to step up or step down…

    As for the guessing game – which National Cabinet Minister has been backstabbing Paula Bennett every chance she gets both privately and semi-publicly? Come on National, Labour and the others have the knives out for you – it’s a bit soon to be turning on one another.

  8. John BT 8

    O dear, we have got at least another 9 years of this picking on that nice Mr Key and his friends. Well I suppose it is better than that other crowd who only know tax, tax, tax and we are still no better off.
    Also, I thought Double Dipper was called Shane or Steve.

  9. TghtyRighty 9

    “The Nats continued silence over the Hamas mess is further proof that they have no clue how to handle international stuff”

    Are you serious Tigger? having both Muslim and Jewish communities residing in New Zealand, and an independent foreign policy means that National, Key and McCully are getting it right. Refusal to condemn said actions, while calling for a ceasefire is rather practical.

    Just because National don’t go in guns blazing, condemning things, like Goff, Minto and Loony Locke do does not mean they have no clue. Rather it protects National from allegations of hypocrisy, as National would be doing exactly what the IDF are doing, running in, guns blazing, condemning things. Therefore, the actions of Goff, MInto and Loony Locke in condemning the IDF’s considered response to provocation, can be accused of hypocrisy.

  10. Rex Widerstrom 10

    1. I don’t care. Under the system we have, that’s what can happen. I’m all for debating changing it, but what’s the point of whining about a perfectly legitimate result (or, to put it another way: they won, you lost, eat that).

    2. A first term MP with ambitions to become PM?! Wow! Gosh! Golly! Errrr… perhaps you could show me one of the conniving little suckers from any party that doesn’t nurture that dream somewhere in their pinstriped breast?

    3. An MP with an independent mindset and you want to squash it. Yes, who is it Steve, so we can all praise him or her for a) breaking free of the hive mind required of their members by National and Labour; b) injecting some actual debate into the “debate” and c) (hopefully) arriving at a conclusion after talking with and listening to the people s/he represents?

    4. It’s just a tad early to be squawking “leadership spill”. The rule is usually to wait till the Leader has had a chance to make a balls-up on the first day of Parliament, then keep it up every fortnight or so. And it’s handy to have a “code phrase” you consider riotously humorous, like “barbecue at Phil’s place”.

  11. Rex. I would praise him on 3. if he had crossed the floor on the issue or at least stated concerns. As it was, he is a coward.

  12. lukas. unfortunately, the secret taper isn’t around everytime the tories let the truth slip.

  13. lukas 13

    This information is probably as reliable as whoever it was that whispered to you that Rodney was going to lose Epsom

  14. Rex Widerstrom 14

    Not every internal division in a party needs to be fought out in public. I heartily wish it could be, because then we’d see democracy at work. But whenever someone breaks free of the hive mind the idiots in the media play it up as “internal divisions” and “rifts” and label the MP(s) as “maverick(s)” and generally make a huge drama out of what should be quite an ordinary process so as to give themselves airtime or column space to pontificate on the likelihood of some sort of showdown.

    Hopefully this individual is also lobbying his fellow MPs on the issue and not just blabbing to supporters. Perhaps s/he’s trying to signal to the powerbrokers that unless they moderate their plans there’ll be dissent, but in such a way that both they and the powerbrokers can pretend no such thing occurred and thus save face. That’s often the way politics is done.

    There’s a myriad of possible reasons – including a lack of experience leaving the MP concerned not really knowing what s/he can do to change things, so just expressing their frustration to anyone who’ll listen.

    Rather than trying to shoot them down, perhaps you’d be better advised to be shoring them up? Certainly if I were working for a union I’d be getting alongside that person now, not taking pot shots in blogs.

  15. Oh don’t worry Lucas – those wee tid-bits seem about right to me and I’ve got a strange knack for finding these sorts of things out…

    I’d also add provocative question five – “which senior government MP has done more than a little moonlighting over the last few years?”…

  16. Do you work for a union Rwex?

  17. mike 17

    Up to the old dirty and desperate tricks eh SP.

    Since the direct smear on Key back-fired so spectacularly the pinko’s think divide and conquer work. Get a life FFS.

    On the middle east issue – here’s one from left field, tell the hamas terrorists to stop trying to kill innocent Israelis and the conflict will end – its not rocket science

  18. Peter Burns 18

    Wodinwod – what union represents the 357 CYFS kids killed by the state since year 2000?
    Welcome to the kiwi nightmare kids!!!

  19. faded tigger 20

    GRASPING AT STRAWS & CONSPIRACY THEORIES.

    The classic hallmarks of the losing team.

  20. Rex Widerstrom 21

    Robinsod: No, but I have in the past, handling media and government relations. If I heard a whiff of an MP with supposed leadership ambitions and a problem over government policy I’d be cultivating them. Perhaps much in the way a farmer cultivates lambs – and for the same reason – but cultivating nonetheless.

  21. Peter Burns 22

    I like the idea of cultivating MP’s for the meatworks, because they’re only good for blood and bone fertilizer to put on me Toms.

  22. Tigger 23

    TRighty – “Refusal to condemn said actions, while calling for a ceasefire is rather practical.”

    No, they’re fence-sitting while hundreds of Arabs die every day. Nuttin’ ‘practical’ about that, mate.

    The Nats are fence sitting to keep their dream date the USA happy. They’re not actually making a decision based on what they believe – or even being diplomatic – they are simply brown nosing.

    I’ve read people deride Labour’s stance and the Green’s position as simply spouting words. Words might be hollow given that words alone ain’t gonna stop this mess, but I’ll take conviction and taking a stand over pathetic fence sitting any day.

    This ‘don’t want to say anything that might make Uncle Sam unhappy’ position is the foreign policy we can expect till Key and his merry band of impotent wimps is gone. And it’s kind of pathetic.

  23. Tigger 24

    Hang on, just read McCully’s latest press release –
    “New Zealand is deeply worried by the mounting humanitarian crisis in Gaza as a result of the continuing Israeli ground offensive,” he said.

    Oh yes, I can see peace ringing out in the Middle East as a result of Murray McCully’s inspirational words of encouragement…

  24. marco 25

    your kidding yourselves if you think Helen would not be fence sitting right now.

  25. TghtyRighty 26

    Oh no hundreds of arab’s dying? most of whom carry assault rifles and are committed to throwing israel back into the med. sorry if i don’t get all anguished if a few innocent arab’s get caught in the crossfire, unfortunately it may be the price you pay when your state is run by democratically elected terrorists.

    Sitting on the fence to keep the USA happy? your pretty deluded, specially as National are calling for a ceasefire, which is a more productive form of involvement would you not agree?

    Oh, and I’m not, nor ever will be, your mate.

  26. lprent 27

    TR: “unfortunately it may be the price you pay when your state is run by democratically elected terrorists.

    Yeah the Israelis have had a problem with having elected both convicted and effective terrorists for the past 50 years. It explains a lot about the political culture of Israel and why this conflict has gone on for so long. People who think that power grows out of the barrel of a gun tend not to negotiate or compromise, even when it is in the best interests of whom they purport to represent.

    Of course when they do get someone that does start working for peace then they get shot or a shift in coalitions to prevent it from happening. Most of the time politics in Israel consists of leaders saying that “I’m more of a terrorist than the other guy”.

    These days they have built their very own Warsaw ghetto Gaza strip with walls, guards, and have embarked on the starvation of the inhabitants. Ultimately they hope that the inhabitants will starve to death embrace co-existance. Thereby getting rid of the problem.

    Anyway, just as the Israelis have learned from the peoples of eastern and central Europe in the pogroms and genocides of the 19th and 20th centuries, they are now passing the lessons on. Even their rationale and excuses for their barbarous actions sound like the ones emitting from Germany and Austria in the 30’s and 40’s.

  27. TightyRighty 28

    good one lprent, i remember reading in every account of world war II, that it was preceeded by poland and frace and especially their jewish populations firing artillery and rockets into german civilian populations.

  28. Tim Ellis 29

    Happy New Year to you LP. I understand the passion involved here, but comparing the Gaza to the Warsaw Ghetto says to me that you haven’t visited either place. Conditions in the Gaza are pretty tough, but using hysteria like that isn’t helpful.

  29. Lew 30

    TR: Do you think the Nazis’ actions would have been justifiable if the Poles had fired a few mortars before being invaded?

    Yes, I know it’s a pig-fucker argument, but just look what a stupid argument you’re trying to make. Not that comparing Gaza to the Holocaust is much better.

    L

  30. Johnty Rhodes 31

    TR – can you give references to the Jews firing rockets into German cities? I have read many accounts of WW2, especially the Eastern Front but I cannot recall reading this. Least get some facts right.

    Also, the walls kept the suicide bombers out have they not, that is why they were built. At least the Germans were not economical with the truth as to the WG being set up.

    While we are on the Warsaw Ghetto, why did the Russians stop at the Vistula for 2 months while the fighting was still going on, after all they had just destroyed Army Group Center in Op. Bagration? Sounds like the Arab nations/UN to me.

  31. TightyRighty 32

    Jonty,

    I think the facts you are looking for are filed under S for sarcasm.

  32. Quoth the Raven 33

    Over at Lenin’s There is an interesting look at the numbers of dead. 550 Gazans out of 1.4 million killed over 11 days is proportionally worse than what happened in Darfur at the height of the killings. It was easy enough for people to look at what was going on in Darfur and call it genocide…

  33. lprent 34

    TE: The stages of the formation of the Warsaw ghetto look disturbing like Gaza to me.

    Push a pile of people into an enclosed area with high density (makes it easy for disease to spread).

    Limit the availability of medicines (ditto).

    Reduce the food supply and steadily drop it (ditto)

    Use people as a workforce for a while.

    When ready use any provocation(s) to attack regardless of the proportionality.

    Ummm I’m having a real problem in distinguishing between 50 years of Israeli policy towards Gaza, and the first few years of German policy towards the Warsaw ghetto.

    Perhaps you’d clarify what I’ve missed?

    TR: So what you’re saying is that if the people stuffed in the Warsaw ghetto had rockets – then they shouldn’t have fired them in case they hurt some Germans?

    Explain to me exactly how this interesting concept in ethics operates? Just at present it sounds like you’re saying that the people stuffed in ovens should have been grateful?

  34. outofbed 35

    Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee could not be contacted last night.

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/4812056a11.html

    Funny that

  35. TightyRighty 36

    No Lprent, you were saying that the reasoning for the legitimate attacks on gaza coming from Israel at the moment are similar to those coming out of austria/germany at pre-world war II. i think the reasonings coming out of israel right now are dealing with the specific threat that hamas poses to israels civilian population.

    Hama’s charter has a clause in it dedicated to the destruction of the state of israel. that is more like 1930’s germany than Israel is.

    And of course im advocating the Jews in the warsaw ghetto rising up, they did, with great impact but it was ultimately futile. however palestinians in gaza are in the ghetto not just because Israel quite rightly doens’t want a bunch hamas voting loonies within it’s border, but also because no other arab nation will take them in. despite the racial, language and cultural similarities.

    and really Lprent comparing the suffering of the most persecuted people on earth in possibly their darkest hour to what is happening in gaza is pretty pathetic and ludicrously dissproportianate.

  36. lprent 37

    TR: You mean that Israel did not want people that should have been their citizens to come back after 1948. It would have interfered in the state of Israel seixing their property.

    So you are in favour of either state sponsored ethnic cleansing or state sponsored property theft?

    BTW: Israel is actually responsible for the people of Gaza until they are taken up as citizens by some other state.

  37. TightyRighty 38

    Hyberbole and rhetoric, don’t forget Lprent that setting up the state of Israel was one of the first major acts of the united nations. the same UN that we are all supposed to bow down to now whenever it lifts one money wasting legs and passes wind.

    Israel shows more responsibility for Gaza than Hamas does. at least the israelis are attacking in defense, i don’t think the same could be said about hamas, who incidentally use their own people as suicide bombers against Israel.

  38. I see the spelling of your handle has been changing TR – are you are relogging for sockpuppet effect? ‘Cos if you are it might pay to consider the fact that two stupid righties making ill-educated arguments doesn’t stop the arguments being ill-educated. No matter how hard to try to back yourself up…

    Oh and TR you stupid fuck – you don’t get to challenge the “disproportionate” nature of others arguments when you spout absurd shit like “sorry if i don’t get all anguished if a few innocent arab’s get caught in the crossfire” (which, by the way, has a misplaced apostrophe…)

  39. TightyRighty 40

    i did change my handle OD, thats ok, thats my choice and i won’t be logging on as my old one. so you can keep your sock analogy.

    you epitomise the problem with the left OD, you don’t like when other people don’t think your way and don’t act your way. in fact you dislike it so much that you mouth taunts that i bet you would’t dare if i was standing face to face with you.

    Nothing about me is ill-educated, i read widely and am a product of the public school system. I at least encourage discussion without telling other people what rights they do and do not have in discussion. if you think it’s absurd that i don’t cry in my bed at night hugging my red blankie because a few arab civilians were killed in cross fire, thats fine. But i am not a stupid fuck.

  40. Steve Withers 41

    RE: “legitimate attacks”? No. Understandable, maybe but “legitimate” – not even close. I include both sides.

  41. lprent 42

    TR: Israel has been refusing responsibility for its citizens since 1948. It prefers (like you) to mindlessly label them as ‘terrorists’ so it can disenfranchise them.

  42. TightyRighty 43

    correct me if im wrong, but there is a signifcant minority of Arabs still in Israel proper isn’t there? i don’t think they are all labelled terrorists and treated as such by the Israeli state.

    [lprent: Damn spotted this while moderating…. Oh well treat as a comment
    About 5-10% from memory.
    Someone will no doubt inform you of the many ways that Israeli Arabs are treated as second class citizens in the own country. Are you really that ignorant of Israel’s internal political structure ?]

  43. randal 44

    national is a party of straw men and will be gone in three years

  44. Felix 45

    Hi ‘sod,

    TightyWhitey is one of the many goons who changed their handle in order to avoid the inevitable conflict between their pre-election support of National Party promises and their post-election support of National Party actions.

    Today’s display of his complete ignorance of middle-eastern history is just a holiday program really.

  45. TR – I’d certainly say such things to your face you wee dick. It’s not that you think differently from me that makes me think you’re a stupid fuck but the fact that you say suck stupid fucking things. As for your whining like a little girl about me telling you what rights you have in conversation? Suck it up – error has no rights. And you are in error. Consistently and without excuse…

  46. Pascal's bookie 47

    Tighty, on account of how you are not a stupid fuck, perhaps you could explain how the current IDF operation is supposed to achieve it’s stated objective of halting rocket attacks. Israel has stated that they have no intention of permanent reoccupation so if that isn’t the strategy, then what is?

    Seems to me at least, that the thinking is along the lines of “those Palestinians need to be taught a lesson, we’ll hit them hard and then they’ll be too scared to fire rockets”. But that seems really fucking stupid. Gaza has been hit hard before, and the hitting hard thing has never really worked. Indeed those unintended consequences often blowback all over the place. Often in cafeterias and buses. Not excusing it btw. Just saying what is. What ‘ought’ is of less interest to me. Western liberal notions of ‘ought’ don’t count for much in the middle east it seems to me. So it’s pointless discussing it that way.

    So if the action is related to the specific threat of the rockets as you claim, then how is it supposed to work, specifically?

    As you enjoy reading widely, I hope you find the following link thought provoking, I’d appreciate your thoughts as a non stupid fuck. This quote touches on some of that “throwing rivals off of buildings” thing you mentioned. Awful business, but Islamist underground politics under occupation and in police states throughout the middle east is a tough line of work.

    Hamas enjoys a special place in al-Qaeda’s enemies list. Al-Qaeda has long been desperate for a foothold in Palestine, but has been largely kept out because Hamas has the place locked. Jihadist forums bear a deep grudge over Hamas’s crackdown on various jihadist groups which have tried to set up shop there (Jaysh al-Islam, et al). In March 2006, Zawahiri denounced Hamas’s electoral victory and called on them to reject the democratic trap and pursue armed struggle. In February 2007 he attacked the Mecca Agreement between Fatah and Hamas, and in March declared that Hamas had “surrendered most of Palestine to the Jews, sold the Palestinian issue, and sold shari’a in order to retain leadership of the Palestinian government.” In June 2007 he called on Hamas to “correct your path.” Just last week, the leading Jordanian jihadist theoretician Abu Mohammed al-Maqdisi (thanks to Will McCants) complained that “Hamas is misleading Muslims with its glittering slogans, which blind people to their wayward goals and strategies, leading them down the path of criminals… [and] Hamas started the bloodshed in Gaza several weeks ago when it killed members of the Army of Islam organization.”

    From al-Qaeda’s perspective, therefore, Israel’s assault on Gaza is an unmitigated blessing. The images flooding the Arab and world media have already discredited moderates, fueled outrage, and pushed the center of political gravity towards more hard-line and radical positions. As in past crises, Islamists of all stripes are outbidding each other, competing to “lead” the popular outrage, while “moderates” are silent or jumping on the bandwagon. Governments are under pressure, most people are glued to al-Jazeera’s coverage (and, from what anyone can tell, ignoring stations that don’t offer similar coverage), the internet is flooded with horrifying images, and people are angry and mobilized against Israel, the United States, and their own governments. That’s the kind of world al-Qaeda likes to see.

    http://lynch.foreignpolicy.com/node/14962

  47. paul the sour 48

    God, yes. Poland’s Jews were, after all, being armed in secret by Britain and using those weapons to kill and maim innocent Nazis and their families. That’s why Israelis are so suspicious whenever a rocket lands in their yards, fired by a Hamas ghetto-inhabitant. They see these trivial incidents through the lens of their own historical crimes.

    “Embarked on the starvation of the inhabitants” – yes, those relief convoys the Israelis sent through were packed with zero nutrient goods, items that trick your body into thinking you’re eating food while you starve to death. Worse than smallpox blankets, that. And in the market during the cease fire, all those shoppers were actually getting more of the same mock-food. And the UN warehouses passing wares out by the wheelbarrow? Almost all of that was GM rice (and we know what THAT does to the consumer).

    Jews fighting back. Horror.

  48. Felix 49

    paul you’re absolutely right. They should be grateful. They wouldn’t survive in the wild so they’ve been well looked after innit. They all look like terrorists anyway. Have to break a few eggs an that eh?

  49. Quoth the Raven 50

    TR – Don’t forget the nomadic Bedouin people forced to live sedentary lives in ghettos in Israel. The state hardly bothering to provide them with basics such as water and healthcare all in their own land which they aren’t allowed to move around in anymore.

  50. Bill 51

    Strikes me that a debate within the confines of the left about Gaza would be interesting and while probably confrontational would be educational. That the right have NOTHING coherent to say, while not entirely unexpected is, IMO deeply, deeply sad.

    All I’m learning from the various comments from the right is how fathomless their pit of intellectual and moral bankruptcy is.

  51. lukas 52

    Bill… have you read a single post by Randal, Rave or Trave… sure the right have Dad, but…flip.

  52. Felix 53

    Past your bedtime lukey. Chop chop.

    Or you could refute Bill’s statement by pointing to a comment on this thread from a rightie who has ANY understanding of middle eastern affairs or history and has added ANYTHING of value to the discussion.

    Night then.

  53. Peter Burns 54

    dad is banned from here lukas because big bruv said so.
    hi big bruv, your intense hatred is sooooooooooooooooooooo obvious creepster.
    got a real name big blouse?

  54. Stever 55

    One sad but, I suppose, not surprising result of all this is the signs of a revival of extreme reactions by people in “the West”, as reported here.

  55. randal 56

    peter burns
    he’s actualy a announcer for radio spud
    thats his deep cover

  56. Dr.Strangelove 57

    Is outofbed’s post meant to suggest that Gerry Brownlee is the new Pretender ?

    If not, then let’s name names .. John Key is missing in action which leaves Murray McCully.

    Cheers.

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

  • 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
    1 hour 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
    6 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
    8 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
    9 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
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