Taxing multinationals

Written By: - Date published: 9:58 am, December 15th, 2016 - 53 comments
Categories: capitalism, labour, national, tax - Tags: , , , ,

Back in 2013 Labour was arguing that multinational companies should pay their fare share of tax. Then revenue spokesman David Cunliffe wrote:

We all must pay tax – including multinationals
…
Let me put on record that Labour is not proposing new taxes in this area – we are researching and consulting on a widely recognised challenge: how to protect the tax base, improve transparency and reduce legal avoidance of existing tax obligations by global companies operating within New Zealand.
…
Our tax system must be fair to all – and that includes multinationals paying their fair share. Because in the end somebody has to pay.

Such mad ideas as asking Apple to pay its taxes were of course ridiculed by The Herald who couldn’t see any value in it, and mocked by National’s pet blogger. As late as March this year National were still dismissing the idea out of hand.

How times change.

Due in part to the excellent work of Matt Nippert at the very same Herald, National have been shamed in to action at last:

Government planning action to target multinationals over tax

The Government is planning unilateral action to crack down on tax dodging by multinational companies, including changing the law, amid growing concern about fairness.

Revenue Minister Michael Woodhouse said proposals outlined in a cabinet discussion document tabled last month would see Inland Revenue properly armed to tackle the problem and could be accompanied by increased enforcement funding for the taxation authority.

(The very same Woodhouse that was so dismissive in March.)

The proposals include granting broader information-gathering powers to Inland Revenue investigators, shifting the burden of proof to multinational companies in disputes over transfer pricing, and tightening loopholes that allow companies to claim they have no taxable presence in New Zealand.

The moves stop short of a full-scale diverted profits tax, as introduced by Australia and the United Kingdom, but Woodhouse refused to rule out such a measure if this new package failed to achieve results.

It’s a good start. But it’s not yet enough:

‘Not far enough’ – Opposition on tax crack down

Opposition parties have welcomed government moves to crack down on tax avoidance by multinational companies, but tempered this support with criticism they come too late and do not go far enough.

The Herald this morning reported a cabinet discussion paper showed an about-face in government policy with plans having been drawn up to unilaterally toughen our tax regime to clamp down on tax leaking offshore.
…
Both the Labour and the Green parties this morning said they supported the proposed measures, but also pressed for even more action – including lobbying for a diverted profits tax that Michael Woodhouse said would only be implemented if this new policy package failed to deliver results.

Labour Party finance spokesman Grant Robertson said the cabinet discussion document was thin on detail and failed to adequately explain why a diverted profits tax had been taken off the table. …

I/S at No Right Turn writes that the Nats are only pretending to act:

Any action is better than none, but given that other countries have already implemented a diverted profits tax, everyone is already asking why National isn’t planning to as well. And the natural suspicion is that, as with everything else, they’re trying to do as little as possible: enough to get the headline “National cracks down on tax-cheats”, but not enough to actually hurt them and dry up the donations.

But again, its a useful peg in the ground, and allows the left-wing parties far greater room to move. National now openly supports targeting tax-cheats. Which means that Labour and the Greens can give us the real action we need.

Seems like a fair summary.

https://twitter.com/smalltorquer/status/808734875125628928

53 comments on “Taxing multinationals ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. saveNZ 1
    15 December 2016 at 10:49 am

    Great post. Something has to be done when the largest turnover companies in local countries can avoid paying taxes. As well as the tax avoidance that means the taxpayers are short changed it also then discriminates against companies who actually pay their taxes and have to compete against a company that pays little to nothing against often larger companies with massive resources in marketing and branding and lobbying to get further deals out of government.

    The main thing that needs to be undated in my view is that people and companies need to all be taxed at source before the money can be maximised for avoidance. Most taxes in NZ are easy to avoid for companies and trusts because they rely on profits rather than turnover in which profits are easy to manipulate, or rely on a person’s taxable income which for 40% of the super rich is 0! So the new speculator property tax would be 0 if the person can manipulate their affairs to have no taxable income or run a loss. Maybe all taxes need to be more like PAYE and you get taxed on the amount you earn regardless of all the expenses you incur working.

    It looks like the Diverted Profits tax introduced in the UK is a harder tax to avoid for multinationals.

    The DPT is intended to apply to two broad situations:

    where a foreign company structures its arrangements to avoid creating a UK permanent establishment (“PE”) and, broadly, makes more than £10 million annually in UK-related sales revenues from the supply of goods, services or other property and its UK-related expenses also exceed £1 million. UK-related sales of affiliated companies are included in determining the application of the £10 million threshold where such sales are not subject to UK corporation tax; and

    where entities or transactions (involving affiliated parties) lack economic substance and either involve a UK resident company
    or a UK PE of a foreign company to exploit tax mismatches where it is reasonable to assume that expenditure in the UK would not have been incurred, or taxable UK income would have arisen, but for the tax benefit of the actual arrangements.

  2. Puckish Rogue 2
    15 December 2016 at 10:59 am

    So another victory for the left and another reason to vote National, a win-win for everyone yes?

    • Draco T Bastard 2.1
      15 December 2016 at 11:48 am

      Vote National only if you want trans-national corporations to continue ripping the country off.

      • Stunned Mullet 2.1.1
        15 December 2016 at 12:00 pm

        Oh I think multinationals continuing to avoid as much tax as possible will continue regardless of which flavour of government is power.

        • Draco T Bastard 2.1.1.1
          15 December 2016 at 12:10 pm

          Probably but National will make it easier for them as can be seen by them not putting in place at least one critical part of the regulation needed to prevent them from ripping us off.

      • inspider 2.1.2
        15 December 2016 at 12:26 pm

        I suggest if you are worried about being ripped off by transnationals you stop making all those in app purchases then draco. You can wait for your powerups; you don’t have to keep playing

        • Draco T Bastard 2.1.2.1
          15 December 2016 at 12:28 pm

          Ah, no argument against what I said so you went the normal RWNJ ad hominem route and you even made up completely fictional BS to do it.

          Basically, your typical National supporting liar.

  3. Stunned Mullet 3
    15 December 2016 at 11:43 am

    Good job – if the multinationals fail to pay up they should be subjected to a turnover tax to stop their manipulation of transfer pricing.

    Do the Herald’s fine overlords pay their fair share in NZ ?

  4. Draco T Bastard 4
    15 December 2016 at 11:46 am

    Labour Party finance spokesman Grant Robertson said the cabinet discussion document was thin on detail and failed to adequately explain why a diverted profits tax had been taken off the table. …

    Probably because National will be ensuring that there are large loopholes for tax to be avoided in the parts that they’re not addressing.

    • saveNZ 4.1
      15 December 2016 at 12:20 pm

      In addition National well publicised speculator tax to control the property market, rely on taxation of the individuals taxable income so if you are taxed at zero like 40% of the Super rich individuals or many companies while turning over millions then you don’t have to pay!

      Joke, When is a tax not a tax
      Answer – When National ensures that only the rich can avoid it.

      • Gosman 4.1.1
        15 December 2016 at 1:53 pm

        Why do you care if companies pay company tax? Their owners and employees all pay tax and the company usually pay GST. What particular reason do you need to get more tax from them?

        • Draco T Bastard 4.1.1.1
          15 December 2016 at 2:00 pm

          Their owners and employees all pay tax and the company usually pay GST.

          Except for the fact that they don’t.

        • saveNZ 4.1.1.2
          15 December 2016 at 2:09 pm

          Inequality dear Cosman. Society is breaking down now that .01% have much of their capital offshore.

          For example Apple one of the most profitable companies keeps all their profits offshore they don’t even take them back to the US, let alone pay anywhere else at the full rate, (instead they lobby for a sweet deal of say 6% tax on the profits from the US before they deem to pay). So how can anyone compete with that if you actually pay your company taxes. That money is not actually paying any wages or GST equivalent. It’s just stuck in tax havens like the NZ ones, paying 0% tax. Tax has to be fair and it is not an even playing field anymore. Most of their workers live in China and being paid minimum wages.

          Social mobility has stopped. Innovation is stagnant. Real issues are being covered up such as climate change and pollution. etc etc.

          If the workers are getting minimum wages and then the middle have to prop them up with welfare, the 100 million dollar plus companies pay nothing and neither do their rich shareholders or get better deals, then society is broken.

          Soon there is not enough to pay for health, or benefits, or education or superannuation – especially in social democracies when the burden is put more and more on the middle and even worse adding more people to the mix with migration to support.

          • Gosman 4.1.1.2.1
            15 December 2016 at 5:13 pm

            Ummm… unless Apple keeps money in the company forever (and what benefit does that provide the shareholders) they will eventually have to pay out profits. At that time they pay tax on them. So why do you want them to pay tax at the company level?

        • mikes 4.1.1.3
          15 December 2016 at 6:13 pm

          “… the company usually pay GST..”

          No company ever ‘pays’ the GST charged on their sales. They simply collect it from consumers and pass it on to the government. They can however claim back all of the GST they pay on their purchases, which most consumers can’t do.

          “Why do you care if companies pay company tax?”

          Fuckwit.

        • Tricledrown 4.1.1.4
          16 December 2016 at 12:56 am

          Gooseman because if they paid their fair share of tax you would pay less tax!

  5. infused 5
    15 December 2016 at 5:00 pm

    You’re not going to affect this at all. And then you will find NZ being taxed over in other countries which will likely drive them out.

    • Paul 5.1
      15 December 2016 at 5:06 pm

      So what is your solution, infused?

      • Gosman 5.1.1
        15 December 2016 at 5:15 pm

        Cut company tax around the World to zero.

        • Paul 5.1.1.1
          15 December 2016 at 5:15 pm

          Of course.
          How will that help gosman?

          • Gosman 5.1.1.1.1
            15 December 2016 at 5:18 pm

            It will stop companies using transfer pricing to hide profits.

            • Paul 5.1.1.1.1.1
              15 December 2016 at 5:22 pm

              So without company tax, how do national governments operate?

              • Gosman …
                15 December 2016 at 5:27 pm

                Taxing personal income, consumption and charging businesses for services provided by the State. You still haven’t answered the question why the State should tax business on profits.

                • Paul …
                  15 December 2016 at 5:34 pm

                  It’s called a social contract.
                  Businesses need roads, trains, sewers, water, gas, an educated workforce. They only get that if a country provides these.

                  • Gosman …
                    15 December 2016 at 5:42 pm

                    I thought the social contract was between the people in the country and the State. The State provides an environment in which citizens are more likely employed and paid higher salaries and in return the people agree to pay for this via their taxes. The nature of the social contract between the two is decided via who controls the government which is decided by the electoral system. As businesses don’t get a vote they don’t have a say in the social contract. Remember the rallying cry ‘No taxation without representation’ ? Why would a business be happy with a social contract where they have no say in it?

                  • Gosman …
                    15 December 2016 at 5:48 pm

                    Why shouldn’t businesses pay for the cost of using the services the State provides them?

                    • Paul …
                      15 December 2016 at 5:51 pm

                      That is my point.
                      They should pay taxes.
                      Taxes – the price we pay for a civilised society.

                    • Gosman …
                      15 December 2016 at 5:53 pm

                      Charge them for the services directly then. Doing so via tax is inefficient and unfair.

                    • Gosman …
                      15 December 2016 at 6:04 pm

                      That’s the extent of your counter? That Somalia supposedly has low taxes. We are not even talking about low taxes. We are talking about company tax rate. You still haven’t addressed why a company should pay taxes on profits above paying for the cost of services provided to it by the State. You seem to think there is some sort of social contract between a business and the State when I would argue that only really applies to the State and voters.

                    • mikes …
                      15 December 2016 at 6:17 pm

                      For a start it would be immensely complex.

                      Then of course there is the fact that legally a company is a person, with the same rights and privileges as a real human being..

                    • Paul …
                      15 December 2016 at 6:22 pm

                      And therein lies the problem.
                      We need to remove that right from corporations.

                      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkygXc9IM5U

                    • Gosman …
                      15 December 2016 at 6:30 pm

                      I must have missed the bit where a company gets to vote.

                      mikes – given that you think companies are the same as people I suppose you have no problem with them spending huge amounts of money lobbying governments.

                      Paul – as you seemingly think the social contract exists between businesses and the State as well as people and the State why do you object to corporations being legally regarded as a person?

                    • Tricledrown []
                      16 December 2016 at 12:58 am

                      Companies buy votes goosey

                    • Gosman []
                      16 December 2016 at 3:40 am

                      Given some people think they are part of the social contract between the State and it’s people it iseems entirely understandable they buy votes given they don’t have any of their own.

                    • One Anonymous Bloke …
                      15 December 2016 at 6:32 pm

                      Gossie sweety, I must have missed the part where anything you say can be trusted. Best you shut the fuck up: corporations have their own PR and your input can only make them look bad.

                • Henry Filth …
                  16 December 2016 at 5:33 am

                  The state shouldnt tax companies on profits.

                  The state should tax companies on income.

                  Its easy to have income without profit. Its hard to have profit without income.

                  You seem to believe that companies should not pay for the government services they use. Odd.

                  Why so keen to subsidise the business community fromyour own pocket? And mine.

  6. Duncan 6
    15 December 2016 at 7:23 pm

    Until there is international agreement on taxation of multinationals, why not calculate revenue derived in NZ as a percentage of global revenue and apply that pro rata to global profit.
    This notional profit can then be taxed at local rates.
    Better than nothing for a start.

    • Gosman 6.1
      15 December 2016 at 8:24 pm

      Why not just charge international businesses for the services provided by the State?

      • Tricledrown 6.1.1
        16 December 2016 at 1:01 am

        They will find new loopholes that corrupt political parties will facilitate

      • Henry Filth 6.1.2
        16 December 2016 at 5:36 am

        Given (say) Apple’s record on tax, would you trust it to provide accurate data on the services it uses?

        Your faith in human perfectibilty is touching, but possibly misplaced.

        • Gosman 6.1.2.1
          16 December 2016 at 7:19 am

          Apple doesn’t have to provide the details. The government will calculate what they use independent of Apple and present them a bill.

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    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 ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    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 ...
    Skeptical Science
    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 ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    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 ...
    Bowalley Road
    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 ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    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
    6 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 ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    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 ...
    Skeptical Science
    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
    7 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 ...
    Skeptical Science
    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

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