That meeting

Written By: - Date published: 9:46 am, September 27th, 2008 - 50 comments
Categories: john key - Tags:

The more I think about it the more it seems to me that John Key’s meeting with Rail America needs some more explaining.

For a start these kinds of meetings don’t just happen of their own accord. Rail America is based, somewhat unsurprisingly, in America. John Key is based in New Zealand. That means someone had to take a 20 hour flight for this meeting to take place.

Then there’s the fact that someone had to think it was a good idea for Key to meet with company reps. The question is who was that person? I assume David Richwhite would have been dealing with Rail America at that time and he has been a big (and controversial) donor to the National Party (and my sources tell me Key is personally acquainted with him) so maybe it was him.

If he was the go-between then the situation gets murkier as insider trading proceedings were filed against David Richwhite in an action that included investigation into “a bid by Rail America for Tranz Rail (in the event not proceeded with)”. What the exact charge around the Rail America sale was we don’t know because that action was stopped when $20 million was payed out by Richwhite but no liability was accepted.

Of course this is only surmise but according to the Labour party Key was at the meeting in his capacity as a representative of New Zealand’s parliament.

If Key did meet with the company in his capacity as our representative then the public has a right to know all of the details surrounding this meeting and pertinent questions would be where did he meet Rail America and, if it was in the US, who picked up the tab for the flights and accommodation?

There may be simple answers to the questions of who set the meeting up, where it was, what was discussed and who, exactly, it was with but unfortunately I don’t think we’ll ever hear them.

50 comments on “That meeting ”

  1. Razorlight 1

    John Key has admitted his mistake apologised for it and attempted to get back to debating the future.

    I am genuinley curious as to why this story keeps coming up IB. Can any more damage be done to Mr Key through repeating accusations.

  2. IrishBill 2

    “I am genuinley curious as to why this story keeps coming up IB. Can any more damage be done to Mr Key through repeating accusations.”

    The story keeps coming up because something about it doesn’t seem right to me. It’s got my nose going and I would really like some answers about Key’s meeting with Rail America. As I’ve said these sorts of meeting don’t just happen spontaneously and there are a lot of issues around that failed sale that have not be resolved (and not just to do with Key).

    At the time the insider trading settlement was made I had hoped (in vain as it turned out) that there would be better investigation of it in the media as I have been party to a lot of very interesting but unconfirmed information about Tranzrail over years and would like to see the record set straight.

    I also think Key’s admission was extremely limited and designed to inoculate the story as fast as possible. In my experience this kind of technique is used to close down a story before more digging is done. That makes me curious.

  3. randal 3

    this story keeps coming up because it is about the probity of the man who would be king. lucky for us he wont be.

  4. John Dalley 4

    A Complaint to the appropriate authority about possible insider trading would make for an interesting election right about know.
    Maybe Rodney Hide will lay a complaint, him being the champion of the truth and all that!!
    I do think further investigation should be done, as this has all the hall marks of being very under hand.

  5. Razorlight 5

    Do you really think Key is that shady IB. Do you honestly believe he invited the Americans over here or attended a meeting to gain inside information for his financial gain.

    What is it that you are so suspicous of?

    I know you do not like his politics but do you honestly believe he is as dodgy as you are infering.

  6. burt 6

    IrishBill

    Have you lodged a complaint with the Police? How about referring this to the privileges committee.

    Actually don’t bother with the privileges committee because it use to be called the highest court in the land but now that it’s found against a Labour-led govt MP it’s just another parliamentary committee. We were told that misleading parliament was a criminal offense but now that a Labour-led MP has been found doing that we find out it’s just a slap on the wrist with a wet bus ticket.

    But then again, while the Labour-led govt are still in charge you might find that if the privileges committee finds against John Key that it’s suddenly the highest court in the land again.

    So perhaps it’s worth giving it a go.

    captcha: Cairo negative – Oh yeah! – The standard has the best captcha on the www!

  7. IrishBill 7

    Razorlight, yes I do think he is shady or at the very least there is not enough known about him and his dealings and his motivations for me to feel comfortable about the idea of him leading the nation.

    There is less public information available about him than any other candidate for PM I can remember and the herald’s hagiography didn’t help.

    I’m starting to get the feeling the Rail America meeting was less about personal gain and more a favour for a mate but I know something doesn’t add up.

  8. Razorlicht,

    Because as IB shows questions remain and new connections keep popping up begging for answers.
    John Key, who was managing the department dealing in bonds and derivatives products for Merrill Lynch (recently absorbed by bank of America because of their toxic dealings) now threatening the global financial system and banked from Wall street too, is a secretive little squirrel and he wants to rule this country.

    I want to know everything there is to know about the Smiling Assassin.
    It seems IB wants it too.

    In fact I think we should be doing a whole lot more digging especially in light of his connection to Wall street, something else he doesn’t talk much about, and the coming financial tsunami.

    And believe me the subprime was only just the beginning.

  9. I also think Key’s admission was extremely limited and designed to inoculate the story as fast as possible. In my experience this kind of technique is used to close down a story before more digging is done. That makes me curious.

    Careful IB, you’ll get trolled as a conspiracy theorist if you say things like that. LOL.

    But yeah, I felt the same.

  10. Bill 10

    “The Commission’s inquiry focused on SALES of shares in the first half of 2002, before the share price of the company began to deteriorate from about the middle of 2002.”

    And John BOUGHT his shares in Feb 2002.

    When was the meeting? May/June 2003?

    Looks to me like John got burned in early 2002. Which is a good thing, ’cause I don’t like the guy, but a bad thing for the dots you seem to be trying to join IB…or have I missed something?

    Sure, his buying and selling of the 50 000 shares might have been predicated on ‘privileged’ info or some-such, but that was in May/June 2003. And as a consequence of the May/June 2003 meeting he might have been able to have the shares talked up to recoup some of his inevitable losses.

    And that’s dodgy in my opinion, but it doesn’t have anything to do with the Securities Commission investigation which was focussed on share sales in early 2002

  11. Razorlight 11

    Well boys you better get digging quick and get your findings to the relevent authorities quick because he will probably be PM in 6 weeks time unless you save us from this tyrant.

    Making the accusations on aguably the most partisan of all blogs isn’t really going to get you anywhere.

    But don’t you think there is an army of activists out there digging as well. How many people are looking for that King punch on Mr Key. There are dozens of blogs to begin with. Notwithstanding this huge effort noone has found the dirt that sticks.

    Maybe, just maybe that dirt doesn’t exist.

    I suppose the next 6 weeks will tell us.

  12. Bill 12

    Maybe somebody could look see whether Richwhite et al sold shares soon after the May/ June 2003 meeting? That would suggest a bit of shenanigans on Key’s part.

  13. ghostwhowalks 13

    Notice that in todays Herald about Key seeting up a blind trust – which was the misleading impression he was giving that this was the current arrangement.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10534474

    It also says that his ‘unwritten’ aggreemnt with his broker at UBS to trade without refering back to him ( while not saying whether the TR buying and selling actually happened that way) broke the stock exchange rules at the time.

    So another breach of the rules, but this time by the UBS broker Richard Leggat. Whats the bet unlike Owen Glen he wont be dragged into the spotlight to account for his discrepancies

  14. A 20 hour flight to the USA?

    Did he fly on a DC10?

    IrishBill: Rail America HQ is in Florida. That’s a 20 hour flight from Auckland (minimum).

  15. IrishBill 15

    Bill, he also bought on the 16th of April 2003. This is the date the securities commission state shares reached their lowest point ever. On May 20 he had his meeting with Rail America. On June 9 he sold that parcel of shares for more than double what he paid.

    However, at the time of the meeting (the time they were bidding for Tranzrail: the $0.75 offer was announced on the 15th of May) something was happening/had happened with Rail America and Richwhite that was later of sufficient interest to the Securities Commission that it formed part of their later investigations. This may not be connected but, taking into account the relationship between Richwhite and Key, we can’t rule a connection out until we find out about Key’s meeting.

  16. randal 16

    there wasnt much left of nz rail after fay richwhite sold all the surplus track to japan when they got their hands on it but there was enough to make it worth somebodies while to ramp the price up and down for short term speculative gain.

  17. Razorlight,

    Watch the collapse of the US banking world if they don’t get bailed out. It’s going to be spectacular and unstoppable. Why is it collapsing? because for the last twenty years they have been playing around with dodgy securities scams and remember that during his tenure with Merrill Lynch John Key sold this crap al over the planet running the department of debt (and no, that is not the department of debt collection) according to the puff piece in the NZH he told them, “I was running this department with a hundred and 140 guys developing all this new financial products.”

    Guess what? Merrill Lynch collapsed because they were stocked up with these dodgy new products.

    Derivatives were banned after the great depression but Alan Greenspan under Reagan dusted them off and gave them new live and presto a new great depression. If that isn’t shady I don’t know what is.

    John key’s previous bank also collapsed because of shady derivatives schemes going wrong. So I guess John Key knew al about them but went on trading them, i guess he didn’t give a toss about the damage they would cause just so long as he could walk a way with bundle.

    Really the man we want to govern this country in the tough times ahead. LOL

  18. Felix 18

    One aspect missing from this story is that while Key’s own trading may have been pretty insignificant (by his standards), who else was he sharing his inside info with?

    Who else might have been trading based on his advice?

  19. RedLogix 19

    All right wingers who have spent the last few decades lecturing us about how wonderful ‘free-market’ capitalism is should, in the light of the current meltdown in the global markets, crawl under a rock and never been seen or heard in public again.

    The free market capitalists have lied to and stolen from on us on a vast, monstrous and venal scale; while right wing agitprop agents still repeat utterly discredited non-events like “Speedergate” and “Paintergate” to support their totally insane fantasies that Helen Clark is some sort of lying tyrannical despot.

    Understand that these super-rich capitalists are only interested in one thing; increasing their own wealth and power. Nothing, literally nothing else is a consideration in their absolutely amoral universe. For decades they have been feeding us lies that notions like the ‘social wage’ or ‘social contract’ were morally amd economically wrong. All this carefully crafted propaganda was merely a code to justify their real agenda. Their real ideal and purpose is to create a world is populated by a superrich class free to enjoy unlimited privilege and a vast impoverished working class constrained to live hand to mouth in debt all their lives.

    The capitalists had but one dream, to slash costs and wages. This is why they have so rapidly moved their production from the West to countries like China. They have shown not the slightest scruple or compunction about this; the transition has occurred at breakneck speed with absolutely no concern for the millions of jobs and middle class lives they have destroyed in the West.

    The only remaining barrier to implementing this dream has been the representative democractic governments of the West, most particularly the USA, politically tied to the interests of their very numerous middle classes. And of course the very best way to dismantle a government is to bankrupt it. (The Russian and Argentinian experiences are pertinent examples.) And they are doing this right now with a monstrous mugging to the tune of many trillions of dollars.

    Open your eyes. The affairs of humanity are being devoured as a pack of greed crazed wolves feeding on a carcass. Much of the time they have stalked us in suits and called themselves by respectable names; but no longer can they hide or resist their money lust, their fangs are out devouring whatever lies in their path.

  20. Doug 20

    Felix

    My be John offerd Cullen advice, and Cullen bought all the Shares in the Raillway.
    This will hurt all of the Population now.

  21. Felix 21

    Heh – that’s funny Doug.

  22. randal 22

    maybe he has sold new zealand forward to the highest buidder?

  23. Chris 23

    From a mefi thread with the header ‘Oh sh*t.’ about Palins foreign policy interview with Couric.

    i begin to wonder if the republicans even WANT to win this election. i mean, they got their money, right? they got control of the oil. they’ve pretty much guaranteed that universal health care and social security reform (remember that?) are pretty much non-starters at this point. all the corporations are as big and vertically integrated and unregulated as possible. education is in the toilet. habeus corpus has been repealed. all the jobs are overseas. bible-thumping, homophobic christian fundamentalism is rampant. 1984 has come true (thanks AT&T!). they’ve established a homeland gestapo. they’ve killed an absolute shitload of brown people, both here and abroad. and they’ve pretty much guaranteed that the dems are gonna smell like shit for the next 4 years as all this sinks in. i just can’t see anything more they could want.

    http://www.metafilter.com/75174/Oh-sht#2274257

  24. Draco T Bastard 24

    Travelerev:

    Watch the collapse of the US banking world if they don’t get bailed out.

    Watch as the US economy grinds to a halt if they do: Cure worse than the Crisis. I’ll throw in this one as well from the same author: The Insanity of the $700 Billion Giveaway

    Back OT
    I would love to see some of these questions answered about JKs actions surrounding the meeting with Rail America. There’s just too much that we don’t know and we need to.

  25. rave 25

    Is the missing link to the Labour Party statement this one.

    I see that Key got compensation for his first 30,000 shares from the insider trading settlement. Can you explain that?

  26. Monty 26

    I know this is your blog and you are obsesed with John Key, but surely it is time to starting dropping hints about the next “explosive scoop”. I know you guys are bitterly disappointed that the a dwarf has more legs that the John Key Tarnsrail shares, but it is now yesterdays fish and chip paper.

    I suggest that you get all your ducks lined up for the diversion and interference you will need when the Fical Updates (Thank you Ruth Richardson) are releases in a few days –

    Cullen no doubt would love to hide and lie about the true state of the economy – but thanks to Ruth’s foresight that will not happen again as Labour did in 1990.

    National will have a hard time re-building the economy after nine years of wasted opportunities due to mis =-management – Cullen is now out of his depth, and the countrya re realising it. Key will be the saviour, and the country do not give a toss about shares he may have owned as a junior MP nearly six ago – and what meetings he may or may not have attended in 2002. This is not a story – no matter how desperate you are to make it one. Sort of reminds me about the time some six months back when authors of this blog went on about a mis-quote on wages. The problem is that this blog is like a closed sound proof room with a whole bunch of lefties (and a few righties) all shouting at each other – outside this blog no one cares what you think.

  27. IrishBill 27

    Monty, it is extremely dull to have you repeatedly turn up and provide a thesis of several hundred words on why nobody should pay any attention to what we say. Have you considered starting your own blog to get this all off your chest?

  28. RedLogix 28

    Monty,

    In what mad universe did you get the idea that JK will be ‘the saviour of New Zealand’.

    The ONLY policy of any economic significance that he has consistently talked up has been massively increasing govt borrowing to pay for tax cuts that will primarily benefit the top 10% or so of taxpayers.

    Open your eyes Monty. In the last few weeks we have seen massive banks and institutions, far larger and more influential than NZ, crumble under the weight of debts that could not be repaid. Exactly the same kind of worthless debt that Key proposes to foist on future generations of NZ taxpayer, to fund tax cuts for his mates and backers today.

    With the same results.

  29. Felix 29

    IB, the link posted by rave above has an unwanted “http//.com” in it.

  30. Draco t Bastard,

    Yeah, wrong choice of words.
    The banks are going down no matter what they get.
    That money should go to new jobs for the American workers. Like rebuilding the infrastructure rebuilding local communities etc.

    Monty,

    Hilarious, John Key our saviour. It’s him and his Wall street buddies that got us in the recession in the first place with their irresponsible greedy speculation with worthless paper.

  31. Ianmac 31

    Actually it would still be a pretty bad call for John Key after the election ,if they won, and further strange dealings came to light. Become the first PM to face………..
    Funny the way righties always refer to enquiries as “digging the dirt”. What Winston says is pretty insignificant compared to the credibility/honesty of a would-be PM But it does seem that there is more to come. When John Key was asked on TV “was there anything else to hide?” and he hesitated, eye flicker “Umm. No. No. Not at all.”
    Don’t want to sidetrack discussion but there was a great deal of criticism for the stand Helen/Michael took against Glenn. Does it not show that a huge benefactor can’t buy patronage of duly elected MP’s? Isn’t this an example of integrity on HC part. You give us money thankyou but it you don’t get special treatment. As it should be. Now how do Fay/Ritchwhite fit in to National as big donors?

  32. RedLogic,

    The subprime was only just the beginning.

    It is all the hedging and betting and reselling of the mortgages in mixed batches on top of it that is going to be the final undoing of the financial system. It truly is a criminal fraudulent heap of speculation and now they want the bankrupt people of America to bail them out out of a mess they created themselves.

  33. Draco T Bastard 33

    Monty

    National will have a hard time re-building the economy after nine years of wasted opportunities due to mis =-management

    What is happening to the economy of the US is because of the same type of policies that National want to bring in. If National gets in to power then we will have financial mismanagement to rival that of Muldoon.

  34. randal 34

    they seem to have some misguided idea in the national party that somehow they can lower wages for working people and create a third world peasantry with themselves as overlords and a residual of say five million spare peasants to live in anthills that they can tut tut over and do deals with for piece work in electronic components. all in all its friggin wierd and not based in any sort of economic reality that can be seen anywehere else in the world.

  35. r0b 35

    National will have a hard time re-building the economy after nine years of wasted opportunities due to mis =-management – Cullen is now out of his depth, and the countrya re realising it.

    Monty knows this is all lies, but he loves to keep repeating it (time after time after time).

    Labour haven’t wasted any opportunities. As is well documented on The Standard, the economy under Labour has grown faster under National, and faster over the last 9 years than other relevant countries. Of course you won’t want to believe this blog, so go read Treasury here and here.

    Because Labour have been prudent managers of the economy NZ is well placed to weather the current international financial crisis. See for example this Treasury summary:

    Economy well placed to meet challenges in 2008
    The New Zealand economy is well placed to meet challenges in 2008 but uncertainty and market volatility is likely to persist in the short term. In addition, the current high inflation environment further complicates the outlook for 2008. However, the sound fiscal position; the prospect of tax cuts; and the ability of the Reserve Bank to move quickly on interest rates, if growth and inflation drop more quickly than expected, mean that the New Zealand economy is well placed to meet potential challenges over the next year.

    Or how about Reserve Bank Governor Allan Bollard in January this year:

    New Zealand had responded positively to significant global shocks in the past few years, and there was no sign of those shocks abating, Dr Bollard said.

    “We have enjoyed a decade of growth, the longest period of economic growth since the post-World War 2 era. Inflation has been low, averaging 2.2 per cent since 1998. …

    “We have been able to absorb recent shocks reasonably well because of the improvements in our economic institutions and policymaking frameworks, avoiding the boom-bust cycles of the 1970s.”

    Though it is very early days even new policies like KiwiSaver are starting to show their potential in this respect:

    According to funds industry performance analyst FundSource, net outflows for the quarter of $48.6 million would have been much uglier without KiwiSaver inflows of $353 million. … Mr Atkins said the high voluntary uptake suggested a big proportion of the funds would be invested in growth assets. “This will provide a boost to the financial services industry, with greater funds under management also potentially boosting local equity markets.”

    Labour led governments have been good managers of the economy (thanks Dr Cullen!).

  36. r0b – Communists! All of them!

  37. r0b 37

    Communists! All of them!

    Do you think they could get Chuck Norris to play Monty when they make the movie ‘Sod?

  38. He’ll have to put on quite a bit of weight…

  39. r0b 39

    (A word in the original version of this triggered moderation, I bet I can guess which one)

    Chuck is a professional – he’d do it for the role of a lifetime. A chance to lead the charge up the steps of the Beehive to clear out the Communists? It just doesn’t get any better than that!

    Tally ho, off to check on some billboards.

  40. Tamaki resident 40

    ghostwhowalks highlights some good points about Key’s Trust from the NZ Herald this morning.

    Also, why is it taking so long for Key to set up a blind trust? He has been trying to mislead the general public by saying that it was his trust that was trading in the shares, when in reality he was in the driving seat.

    Why will he not buy NZ shares in this blind trust? Surely there can be as much conflict-of-interest from overseas companies, especially if foreign insurance companies start taking over ACC responsibilities.

  41. rave 41

    Key keeps lying when will it end?
    http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA0809/S00493.htm

    If Key gets reimbursed out of the settlement made by Richwhite for his 30,000 shares bought in early 2002, does that mean that he was unaware of Richwhites selling on inside information? This suggests that Key and Richwhite were not in touch on this matter. Or am I missing something?

  42. Andy 42

    Tamaki Resident – Great point on blind trusts, especially when compared to Clark who set up a blind trust years ago and made sure there was no possibility of a conflict. Key should have known better, and who the hell is giving out advice to National party members, surely they should be told how to deal with conflicts when they enter the house. Massive fail for Key and National.

  43. T-rex 43

    What I don’t understand is that if National had picked a genuinely good candidate they could have wiped the floor in this election. As it is, even if they win I think it’s going to be close.

    Key is just not that good. He’s lousy in public, comes across as a weasel (once he’s forced to talk, rather than just smile), his background is dodgy as hell (once you get past “self made man from state house”), he’s clearly almost totally amoral, he can only think on his feet in a very narrow and limited frame… why would you pick him? I mean there ARE really smart right leaning people out there. I know some of them, and respect them a lot despite the ideological clash. Why not pick one of them? Clearly “background in politics” is not a prerequisite.

    When you think about it “bagman” is actually the only thing that makes sense! Righties – do you really want Key siphoning our wealth off to Aussie through PPP’s and insider trading? They’re YOUR assets too!

    For f*cks sake, get over your passionate dislike of Helen and think about what you’re going to vote in.

  44. Hey guys and gals I took a quick look through all comments here.. and yes, it’s bit late in the day, but I’d like to know if Tranz Rail stock(aka shares, securities) is the sole financial instrument involved.

    Like could there also be options in the mix.. In which case how many.. and when were they bought.. and exercised (if at all).

    The reason for asking is simply that if call options were lined up they a drop in price of the underlying asset(shares) makes for a ‘cheap’ optin conversion and profitable sale. Yeah, the share is always higher priced than an option to acquire it..

    Hope that makes sense.. and IS RELEVANT..

  45. Tamaki resident 45

    But T-rex, they have not got a “genuinely good candidate” – what are their options? All the experienced MP’s have got huge amounts of baggage so they are left with a contender who seems to forget that he is now open to a lot more scrutiny than when he was running the toxic product division of a large bank.

  46. T-rex 46

    They’ve illustrated in their selection of Key that they don’t NEED an experienced MP though. They just need someone. If you’re going to open up the field to all comers – why not go after someone GENUINELY good?

    Answer? Money.

  47. Tamaki resident 47

    yep – follow the money!

  48. Pascal's bookie 48

    “Genuinely good” candidates;

    have ideas of their own, (or at least ideas of others that they genuinely believe in), get in to politics in order to implement those ideas, and have the ability to persuade others that those ideas have merit.

    or

    “Genuinely good” candidates;

    are crafted images able to inspire trust, without committing to any given course of action.

    Horses for courses.

  49. Oops.. small correction required.. previous comment read:—
    “The reason for asking is simply that if call options were lined up they a drop in price of the underlying asset(shares) makes for a ‘cheap’ option conversion and profitable sale.”

    Should have been PUT option.

    I was on two screens at the same time and.. blahhed!

    Maybe here I can add how in the unregulated financial markets private means a whole lot more than regulated public – as in equity and/or share markets. Guys in these private markets can and do set up, operate and profit & loss bet special products like put and call options. Puts and calls for example offset each other, which means in effect that users/operators can score an entirely different (parallel) line of business.

    A concern would be any politician doing this stuff at the same time as his/her public duties.

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    Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi The fact that a ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    11 hours ago
  • Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    Bryce Edwards writes – Last week former National Party leader Simon Bridges was appointed by the Government as the new chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA). You can read about the appointment in Thomas Coughlan’s article, Simon Bridges to become chair of NZ Transport Agency ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    11 hours ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' at 10:10am on Tuesday, March 19
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Gavin Jacobson talks to Thomas Piketty 10 years on from Capital in the 21st Century The SalvoLocal scoop: Green MP’s business being investigated over migrant exploitation claims Stuff Steve KilgallonLocal deep-dive: The commercial contractors making money from School ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    11 hours ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things on Tuesday, March 19
    It’s a home - but Kāinga Ora tenants accused of “abusing the privilege” may lose it. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The Government announced a crackdown on Kāinga Ora tenants who were unruly and/or behind on their rent, with Housing Minister Chris Bishop saying a place in a state ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    12 hours ago
  • New Life for Light Rail
    This is a guest post by Connor Sharp of Surface Light Rail  Light rail in Auckland: A way forward sooner than you think With the coup de grâce of Auckland Light Rail (ALR) earlier this year, and the shift of the government’s priorities to roads, roads, and more roads, it ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    13 hours ago
  • Why Are Bosses Nearly All Buffoons?
    Note: As a paid-up Webworm member, I’ve recorded this Webworm as a mini-podcast for you as well. Some of you said you liked this option - so I aim to provide it when I get a chance to record! Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    16 hours ago
  • Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6.06 pm on March 18
    TL;DR: In my ‘six-stack’ of substacks at 6.06pm on Monday, March 18:IKEA is accused of planting big forests in New Zealand to green-wash; REDD-MonitorA City for People takes a well-deserved victory lap over Wellington’s pro-YIMBY District Plan votes; A City for PeopleSteven Anastasiou takes a close look at the sticky ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Peters holds his ground on co-governance, but Willis wriggles on those tax cuts and SNA suspension l...
    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 ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    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
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    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
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    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
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    9 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
    11 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
    12 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
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