The Christmas Island riots

Written By: - Date published: 2:18 pm, November 10th, 2015 - 99 comments
Categories: australian politics, International, john key, national - Tags: , ,

Christmas Island

On a remote island a number of Kiwis are being held in detention by a foreign state.  They are being held because they have been convicted of crimes.  But they have already served their sentences.  As an additional punishment they are to be deported back to New Zealand, even though they have been in their new country for decades and have established homes and families and jobs.

The conditions they are being held in are barbaric.  They have no meaningful contact with their families and loved ones.  The pace of processing of their appeals seeking to be able to remain in this foreign country is slow.  And many of them do not pose security risks to their country of source.  Instead of this they have been transferred far away onto a small island in what seems to be a calculated move to break their will.

Conditions are that bad some of them have rioted.  They have barricaded themselves in one of the compounds and are armed with chainsaws, machetes and petrol bombs.  The management of the centre have refused to negotiate a peaceful back down.  This is going to get really ugly.  The situation was sparked by the death of an inmate.  The fear is that other deaths will follow.

And the Governments response?  Pitiful in the extreme.

Of course I am talking about Australia’s treatment of New Zealanders who through a recent cruel law change find themselves where in some cases their home of many decades is now no longer welcoming of them.

This is how our Prime Minister should be responding.

But unfortunately he is relaxed about the situation. From Radio New Zealand:

Mr Key said incidents at the detention centre were a matter for the Australian government and he would not be intervening.

“I’m always concerned about New Zealanders but they are in a corrections facility [where] actually they are free to leave… They are staying there voluntarily.”

If any of the detainees had concerns they could contact the New Zealand Government, he said.

As far as he understood, the process was being speeded up and New Zealand detainees given priority.

“I can’t tell you exactly what the pathway was but the assurance we got from the Australians is they’re putting in a lot more resources… but the question is how quickly [they] can deal with those appeals.”

At least Marama Fox is being staunch.

Mrs Fox dismissed the suggestion detainees could leave whenever they wanted.

“It’s almost a ridiculous statement because they have to sign away their visa rights in order to do that. “These are people whose lives have been established in Australia. They want to go home to their families who are in Australia – not in New Zealand.”

And Key’s claims that the processing of applications has been sped up appear to be, ahem, not correct.

An Australian lawyer who acts for New Zealanders in detention, Greg Barns, said tensions had been building for some time over delays.

“I’m not aware of any acceleration whatsoever and I’m relatively close to the situation. John Key needs to pick up the phone to Malcolm Turnbull and say, ‘you gotta fix this’.”

Christmas Island was a “desolate place” and the centre should be shut down, he said.

“You’ve had people who have been effectively taken from their families, placed in detention, and in some cases, as we know, they’ve been living in Australia for long periods of time.

If you feel incensed at the issue there is to be a protest outside the Australian Consulate tomorrow at 1 pm orgainsed by Joe Carolan and the Unite Union.  The Facebook event is here.

And this tweet by Morgan Godfery neatly sums up Kelvin Davis’s performance on the issue.

I am finishing this post while watching Parliament. John Key is reaching a new loan by suggesting that all of the detainees are sex offenders and murderers and the opposition has rightfully expressed outrage.  Some twitter traffic follows.

https://twitter.com/DeniseRocheMP/status/663885715374145536

https://twitter.com/danylmc/status/663885502479663105

Update: Video of question one follows.

99 comments on “The Christmas Island riots ”

  1. M. Gray 1

    The pm is all kaka its too late to protect Nzers his government has already allowed killers to come back here and not just one or two either. So what is the point having parole hearings here in NZ when National have already let in some MEAN AND bad people. Keys argument saying we have to look after NZERS is outright lies and rubbish talk trying to cover his own backside when he sat around knowing of the Aussies policy of sending back NZ crims. His policy is too late and it makes a mockery of our justice and court systems

    • aerobubble 1.1

      The PM, or opposition have no control over what Oz does, so its rank stupidity for the Speaker to suggest tht the opposition can be called all manner of names by the PM for what nobody in nz has control over, worse, it make parliament a laughing stock when the opposition is doing everythinto argue that kiwis with nasty records are not returned to nz, where Key will have to ignore their foregn offending as we all know how Aussies treat kiwis as second class citizens, denying basics while taxing kiwis for those basics, as supporting criminals in oz. Two farces doeth not making a PM statement of fact true enough for the speaker to allow it.

      • The PM can absolutely object in strong terms to Australia at the least, or warn them of actual policy consquences for their unlawful actions.

        We could also pull our support for their entry to the UN Human Rights Council, which was laughable before the riot, let alone after.

        These are the absolute MINIMUM things we should be doing in this situation.

        Even if Key doesn’t actually want all the NZers here, he can still object to their treatment, or to the lack of release for non-offenders and nono-violent offenders.

  2. DoublePlusGood 2

    Marama Davidson should also have raised a point of order for her second question, as John Key did not answer it at all.

  3. mary_a 3

    Today FJK accuses Opposition of supporting rapists.

    Does he not remember supporting the ” prominent NZer?”

    • gsays 3.1

      hi mary,
      well put.

    • McFlock 3.2

      And making jokes about the sexual offender who fled to South America.

      And extending diplomatic immunity to an alleged sexual offender when the nation he represented was okay with us arresting him.

      Key is in a pretty small glasshouse to be throwing that particular stone, especially as he refuses to talk about individual cases so it’s possible that none of the NZers involved in the unrest are sexual offenders.

    • Hami Shearlie 3.3

      And the public still haven’t been given all the details of what Mr Sabin former National MP is facing charges for either!

    • linda 3.4

      key appointed graham chapels best friend mike Sabine to the law order committee can say what prominent new Zealand did or do still have dance around the edges

  4. RedLogix 4

    Australia is getting it’s arse kicked on this:

    One hundred and ten countries spoke at Australia’s session in Geneva overnight, putting forward 300 recommendations for the country to improve its human rights record.

    Because of the large number of countries who wanted to comment on Australia – more than half of the countries of the UN – each nation had only 65 seconds in which to address the broad issue of Australia’s human rights regime.

    The issue of asylum seekers dominated concerns.

    http://www.theguardian.com/law/2015/nov/10/un-countries-line-up-to-criticise-australias-human-rights-record

  5. BM 5

    Labour is handing the next election to National.

    Being the sugar nazi and now this, the lack of political nous is quite hard to believe.

    • vto 5.1

      If the people of NZ back John Key over this then they are shitheads. The majority of people will be shitheads.

      Would John Key have told the jews in 1930’s Germany there was nothing he could do and suggested they were “free to leave”?

      No surprise if the majority are shithead arseholes – after all, h1tler got voted in too. That’s your kind BM. How does it feel?

      • BM 5.1.1

        Of course they’ll back Key, no one likes crim huggers which is what Labour is doing.

        Hone must have a smile a mile wide.

        • vto 5.1.1.1

          “Of course they’ll back Key”

          My point is unaffected by this

        • marty mars 5.1.1.2

          ‘crim huggers’ – lol – don’t know any ‘crims’ eh bm, sure mate I believe you.

          and what has Hone got to do with it – you can be sure he supports any campaign to help people put in desperate and horrible situations.

          • BM 5.1.1.2.1

            The way Davis is behaving he’d be in with a good chance of reclaiming his seat.

            All you’ve seen of the guy is him batting for the criminal under class, all the serco union shilling and now this MP for the Christmas Island crims lark.

            Read a lot of comments online from people who are really disappointed in the way he’s been behaving.

            • weka 5.1.1.2.1.1

              oh fuck off BM. Most people round here have respect for Davis because of his activisms (plural) on respect for women and anti-violence. The issues with the Christmas Island detainees are clearly ones about family and belonging and natural justice (not to mention the base principle in both countries of having done one’s time and being allowed a second chance). Many of Davis’ constituents will share his values around that.

              How about you link to some of these ‘alot of’ comments so we can see what people are saying in context?

              • BM

                Most people round here have respect for Davis because of his activisms

                Well, that’s .00000000001% potential voters for Kelvin, wow, isn’t he doing well.

                • weka

                  you’re the one making the acusation that people here like Davis because he supports criminals. I just pointed out that you’re full of trollshit.

              • JC

                kia ora e weka

            • thatguynz 5.1.1.2.1.2

              You are truly a scumbag BM. I’m ashamed to even share a country with you.

            • Matthew Whitehead 5.1.1.2.1.3

              That is some really lightweight commentary right there. Grow a brain and stop being a law-and-order basher.

        • mickysavage 5.1.1.3

          Of course National would never dream of protecting a criminal.

        • keyman 5.1.1.4

          bm what do you think about final solution for none natz would be an election winner up on planet key

      • Nessalt 5.1.2

        did you just compare the convicted criminals in australia with the jewish diaspora from europe pre wwII? can you please explain the similarities more clearly to me? i think i must have missed the part where the jews actually committed the crimes the media accused them of.

        and the voters of new zealand are shit heads? for not agreeing with you? this is the puerile problem with the left and it’s most vocal supporters. The dialogue consists of screaming and tantrums, followed by insults then most likely threats to hold their breath. winning seems a long, long, long way away for your team vto

        • vto 5.1.2.1

          What, you think the jews were not accused of crimes in 1930’s Germany? The voters supporting the German government certainly believed the jews deserved what they were given. A bit like you and BM now.

          The two situations are more identical than it bears to think about… Australia is heading down the white supremacy road. Always has been. It is an ugly country for this.

          H1tler screamed “you support the rapists, we support the Aryans” just like John Key did today.

          Ugly.

          Fucking ugly

          shitheads

          not to mention dangerous

          • Nessalt 5.1.2.1.1

            The jews were accused of all sorts you muppet. 99.9% was bullshit and designed to sway public opinion against them.

            your move dumb dumb. tell me how this situation compares when australia are deporting criminals that have been committed by foreign residents? these aren’t crimes by australian citizens.

            • vto 5.1.2.1.1.1

              “The jews were accused of all sorts you muppet. 99.9% was bullshit and designed to sway public opinion against them. ”

              …. exactly

              …. you can’t see it can you

              dumb dumb yourself

              • Nessalt

                accused is way different from convicted.

                oh wait, you keep calling john key h1tl3r therefore he must be.

                small wonder labour can’t get anywhere in the polls when it’s online activists are fucking deluded……

                you just went full retard VTO.

                • vto

                  “accused is way different from convicted”

                  No it is not. But you can’t see that can you.

                  You’re a retard

                  • Nessalt

                    so you are guilty from the moment you are accused of a crime VTO?

                    if the government accuses you of rape then you are automatically convicted?

                    • vto

                      wtf that have to do with the price of fush?

                    • Nessalt

                      “accused is way different from convicted”

                      No it is not. But you can’t see that can you

                      -in memory of VTO, who went full retard and now can’t come back.

                • keyman

                  key has no morales except power and money fucken john key i guess the prick would wouldn’t have phoned old Adolf either iam relaxed about final solution but only target the poor

            • Nessalt 5.1.2.1.1.2

              oh and things can’t be more identical or less identical. the description you are looking for is similar.

              hurrrr durrrrrr dont vote joooon keeeys durrrrrr

            • JonL 5.1.2.1.1.3

              They are deporting people who have been accused – and then discharged. Over here, an accusation is enough, if your face doesn’t fit!

              • Nessalt

                I call BS on that. Australia doesn’t break the law just to facilitate your week hit on john key

                • JonL

                  It’s in the papers and on TV over here mate – there are a lot of Aussies who feel pissed off about the whole sorry debacle as well – with that simian retard Dutton as minister, anything could happen. How about Ko Rutene – no criminal convictions in NZ or Aus at all – just “associated” with a bikie gang……….that doesn’t stop Dutton and his pack of goons from the Border Farce!

          • Nessalt 5.1.2.1.2

            john key screamed he supported the aryans?

            haha. really?

            or did he yell that labour were on the side of criminals? technically, he’s not wrong you know.

            it’s not ugly. it’s not interfering in another sovereign states domestic policies.

            So once again, how does does australia deporting foreign citizens convicted of crimes compare to the jewish diaspora from europe pre and during wwII?

            what’s ugly is your rabid hate and bullshit. get some perspective.

            • vto 5.1.2.1.2.1

              H1tler “you support the rapists, we support the Aryans”

              Key “you support the rapists, we support the New Zealanders”

              H1tler vilified the jews

              Key vilifies the 501s

              Don’t know if you realise, but once you have been convicted and done your sentence, be it not paying parking fines or some such, then you are free and have the exact same rights as anybody else. Do you know that?

              ugly

              fucking ugly

              • Nessalt

                H1tler “you support the rapists, we support the Aryans” citation needed

                You do realise that you are talking about Australian criminal law, written and passed by their parliament that says Australia has the right to deport criminals who aren’t residents and have been sentenced to longer than 12 months in prison? full fucking retard you are

                so New Zealand should pressure another sovereign nation to change their laws to protect New Zealand criminals within that nations borders? imagine if another country leaned on the NZ government to change our laws to protect their criminals. you’d be screaming from the roof top.

                the only thing ugly here is the rank hypocrisy and dismal failure to understand the situation. you think this is nationals fault too? it’s no fucking coincidence and small wonder Stuart Nash thinks this place and those who dwell here are a complete fucking balls up that labour has to get past to win.

                • JonL

                  The only thing “New Zealand” about a lot of the deportees, is their birth place. New Zealanders who, for the main part, have grown up in Australia and are as much or more a result of Australian laws, regulations, society, as a New Zealand society many know next to nothing about, having spent 90% + of their lives here!
                  NZ is not their home – only their country of birth.

    • weka 5.2

      yawn, pretty boring trolling there BM, despite the edit to add the second poke of the stick.

    • linda 5.3

      bm you really are a maggot it john key who is complete hypocrite here and if there wasn’t court order in place over prominent new Zealander it would be all over his face

  6. weka 6

    “As far as he understood, the process was being speeded up and New Zealand detainees given priority.”

    Oh that’s alright then. Cronyism rulz ok. You can treat people like shit so long as they don’t have friends in the right places.

  7. Clean_power 7

    An own-goal inflicted by K. Davis. The public neither care nor have time for common criminals held in Australia, even if they are New Zealanders.

    • weka 7.1

      you do realise they’re not criminals any more right? or do you think that people who’ve been to prison should be branded for life?

      • vto 7.1.1

        weka, people like clean power don’t think that far through things… that is why they vote for shallow celebrity

        • Nessalt 7.1.1.1

          hahahahah omg i love this one. where someone disagrees with you so they must be a class traitor. it’s the best

  8. Macro 8

    “Mate-ship” is far more important than defending human rights.

  9. Trey 9

    Exactly Mary_ A, It is a pity that the opposition were not allowed to ask dishonest John about his support for the “prominent” New Zealander. Pot calling kettle black much?

  10. srylands 10

    Labour will get no traction on this issue. Zero. It is not news unless you listen to RNZ.

    In Australia these “riots” are getting scant coverage. Look at today’s Sydney Morning Herald. Nothing.

    http://www.smh.com.au/

    And even if you are outraged by it what do you want the New Zealand Government to do about it? Stamp their feet?

    There is so much that labour could offer to win the next election. And they are simply sleep walking to another defeat. New Zealand deserves a much better alternative.

    • vto 10.1

      Its called doing the right thing

      something you know nothing about

    • McFlock 10.2

      Are you back living in Australia then, sucklands? Because JK’s little dummy-spit has put it on the index page of the websites for stuff, one news, 3news…

      I can see how you might think that lack of coverage in an Australian paper will result in no traction for the New Zealand Labour party, though. It’s a very perceptive insight you made, there, me old cobber and chuzzwuzzah, crack yourself a Foster’s under the shade of a coolibah tree…

    • Expat 10.3

      If you want the real news in Australia, you need to go to the ABC, most of the papers, like in NZ lack CREDIBILITY.

    • JonL 10.4

      Yes – it’s “strange”, how all the Murdoch papers, and most of the Fairfax ones as well are totally downplaying or ignoring the situation – like they downplay anything to do with the detention centres, other than to demonise the people therein!
      The ABC and Guardian (surprise, surprise) have the news featured prominently.

  11. Expat 11

    For most, the issue of human rights is the essential aspect, not who or what the individuals ‘might’ have done, that is why the govt needs to stand up and defend the rights of these people.
    For goodness sake, Australia vigorously defended the rights of the Bali nine smugglers in Indonesia, drug dealers, but again, that’s not the point , it’s the perceived denial of human rights which had to be defended, as we know, it made no difference to the outcome, but the Aus govt was admired for the effort, not condemned, ironic, really, considering Australia’s own record on human rights is absolutely appalling.
    Key playing the discrimination card, shows his shallow and deceitful, manipulative manner, the issue that should be being debated, is HUMAN RIGHTS, because that is the issue, not the side show we’re seeing, someone needs to hold them to account.

  12. reason 12

    Both BM and clean-power support the party that promotes and protects ‘sex offenders’……..

    I bet BM even calls that winning ……………..

    Please BM please explain why the Nats voted down Winstons proposal that convicted sex offenders should not have name suppression if the victims wanted them named ?????????

    Why does National want to protect sex offenders ??????

    What are they trying to hide ………………..

  13. johnm 13

    don’t expect this rubbish gov. to do anything accept bend over for the Australian fascist state. They’re scum. Australia is a foreign piece of shit.

  14. Naki man 14

    22 murderers, 34 child sex offenders and 16 rapists or sex offenders are on the list to be deported. Just the type of scum Kelvin Davis and the Labour party want to support.

  15. Trey 15

    I heard Keys stooge Paddy Gower quote those figures too but then I heard the Australian corrections minister say that there were only 50 New Zelanders held on Christmas Island and the numbers just didn’t add up

    • McFlock 15.1

      Apparently the centre currently has 203 inmates, all adult males.

      So assuming naughty naki’s numbers are correct, that’s 82 out of 203. So most NZers would likely not have convictions for any of those offences, even if we didn’t care about prisoners who had already done their time.

      • weka 15.1.1

        Is that 203 NZers or total people being detained?

      • Bill 15.1.2

        As at early October, the Christmas Island detention centre housed 285 people. Of those, 125 had had their visas cancelled, and 101 were asylum seekers who had arrived in Australia by boat or by plane. Another 57 were visa overstayers who were being sent home.

        http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/nov/10/christmas-island-riot-peter-dutton-says-use-of-rubber-bullets-up-to-police

        And from early August

        There are eight children in the family groups – aged from seven weeks to four years-old; three of the children have been born in Adelaide.
        “It is criminal that the government intends to transfer these families to Christmas Island, “said Ian Rintoul, spokesperson for the Refugee Action Coalition.

        http://www.refugeeaction.org.au/?p=3396

        • weka 15.1.2.1

          I haven’t been able to follow it all, but on twitter there’s been conversation along the lines that the numbers of sex offenders is low and that Gower was probably fed figures from the PM’s office that are highly misleading eg they’re total figures not the NZ ones, or they are the NZ ones but they’re not detained on Christmas Island etc. In other words a deliberate clusterfuck by NACT.

          • Bill 15.1.2.1.1

            The government played Labour. Worked a treat. I mean even this site has given the b/s a full post. JK’s fucking laughing.

            • weka 15.1.2.1.1.1

              Nevertheless it’s not something that the opposition could just ignore.

              Besides, if the prominent NZer gets convicted on sexual assault charges I would hazard a guess that the footage from today will get a fair bit of reairing.

    • Gangnam Style 15.2

      On planet Key they do, the magic numbers at the bottom of the fairy garden.

  16. barry 16

    imagine if while Key was in opposition and he was in his Hellensville office and a convicted rapist came in with a legitimate complaint about the way he was treated in prison. Would he have helped him?

    Of course he would have. It is his job as electorate MP. Someone doesn’t cease to be a constituent when they commit a crime.

    John Key doesn’t have any defense to Labour’s attacks and is just raising the volume so that people won’t hear what is being said.

  17. greywarshark 17

    We don’t want to lose sight of the bulldozer tactics that Oz is using. The stuff about murderers and sex offenders is just stats without context.

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-13/deportations-from-australia-to-new-zealand-
    climb/6847510
    New Zealanders are now the second largest category by nationality being detained.
    The number has risen sharply since the Australian government tightened the laws in December 2014, meaning a 12-month prison sentence, rather than a two-year term, now triggers visa cancellation.

    This is one woman from May this year.
    The mother of five, who moved to Australia from Christchurch as a 16-year-old and is now 43, has spent more than three months detained at the Yongah Hill Detention Centre near Perth….
    Her crime, using a steak knife to stab an aggressive man in the arm at a party, happened in 2010 and the court process stalled until she agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge.
    “This was my biggest mistake and I have to leave the country and my children have to suffer. It just doesn’t seem fair.

    Before being sent to jail on a charge of unlawful wounding, Bradnam lived in Brisbane with her children, three under 18, and extended family.
    Kelly Bradnam with her family, who were all born in Australia. Bradnam is facing deportation back to New Zealand after spending time in an Australian prison.
    Supplied
    Kelly Bradnam with her family, who were all born in Australia. Bradnam is facing deportation back to New Zealand after spending time in an Australian prison.

    She served 10 months of her three-year sentence, before being released on parole. She breached her conditions after being caught drinking alcohol, and was sent back to jail to serve a further sanction period.
    But four days before her release date earlier this year, she was told she would be sent to the Perth detention centre and likely deported back to New Zealand.

    …Background
    http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/72589479/Deportation-of-hundreds-of-Kiwis-has-been-brewing-for-more-than-a-decade
    In the 2011 census, there were 483,000 people living in Australia who were born in New Zealand. Of these, it has been estimated anywhere from 150,000 to 280,000 hold SCVs. Non-permanent Special Category Visas for NZs.)…

    …concerns about an entrenched “permanent second class” of Kiwis in Australia. Studies have shown few New Zealanders ever attain permanent residency or Australian citizenship, because they do not have skills or resources to pass Australia’s strict eligibility requirements. Advocates say this has led to a self-perpetuating cycle of Kiwis kids growing up in Australia with little state support and a university education that could lead to permanent residency out of financial reach. There have also been reports of high levels of homelessness among Kiwis in Australia. Some Kiwis have fought back, with several court battles waged with mixed success against “unfair discrimination”…

    Also http://www.nbr.co.nz/opinion/nz-politics-daily-illusions-trans-tasman-partnership
    Keith Rankin on NZ relations with Australia historically.
    New Zealanders came to live and work in Australia as denizens, not as Anzacs; and were looked upon generically as the English looked upon the Irish. While I like Australia, and I like the Australians who know me, I also understand that Australia has become as much ‘another country’ as any other ‘other country’.
    We are now seeing the full playing-out of this new ‘guest worker’ relationship. New Zealand-born Australians have become substantial victims of a process within Australia in which a clear divide is growing between denizen workers and citizens. The Saudi-isation of Australia.
    New Zealand has to accept that it is not a much-loved bastard sibling of the former Australian colonies. Rather New Zealand is just another foreign nation dealing with an essentially xenophobic neighbour. We need to get used to this.
    – See more at: http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2015/10/03/australias-ireland-what-exactly-is-new-zealands-relationship-with-australia/#sthash.LBimgiQb.dpuf

    The president of the Australian Lawyers Alliance says 5000 New Zealanders have been jailed in Australia in the past 10 years, and the majority could be deported back here.
    http://www.3news.co.nz/nznews/up-to-5000-convicts-could-be-deported-to-nz–lawyer-2015092917#axzz3nG2WxesS

  18. sabine 18

    I don’t know, but I think the Labour Conference over the weekend must’ave been a smashing success….

    All that brouhaha, and shouting, and insulting, and crowing and hoveling and not answering questions and such, oh Dear Leader must not be amused. Poor thing.

  19. infused 19

    Anyone who thinks Key lost it today seriously doesn’t have a clue.

    Will be interesting to see how this plays out.

  20. sabine 20

    Minister of Immigration for OZ who states this

    http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/nov/10/christmas-island-detention-centre-under-control-after-riot-police-move-in

    “Dutton said of 199 on Christmas Island, 113 had a criminal history, including 11 armed robbers, five child sex offenders and four rapists.”

    Not sure where dear leader got his number from, but apparently he did not get them from his mates in Oz.

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    The Detail this morning highlights the police's asset forfeiture case against convicted business criminal Ron Salter, who stands to have his business confiscated for systemic violations of health and safety law. Business are crying foul - but not for the reason you'd think. Instead of opposing the post-conviction punishment and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    8 hours ago
  • Misremembering Justinian’s Taxes.
    Tax Lawyer Barbara Edmonds vs Emperor Justinian I - Nolo Contendere: False historical explanations of pivotal events are very far from being inconsequential.WHEN BARBARA EDMONDS made reference to the Roman Empire, my ears pricked up. It is, lamentably, very rare to hear a politician admit to any kind of familiarity ...
    9 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Scoring 4.6 out of 10, the new Government is struggling in the polls
    It’s been a tumultuous time in politics in recent months, as the new National-led Government has driven through its “First 100 Day programme”. During this period there’s been a handful of opinion polls, which overall just show a minimal amount of flux in public support for the various parties in ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    10 hours ago
  • Bishop scores headlines with crackdown on unwelcome tenants – but Peters scores, too, as tub-thump...
    Buzz from the Beehive Housing Minister Chris Bishop delivered news – packed with the ingredients to enflame political passions – worthy of supplanting Winston Peters in headline writers’ priorities. He popped up at the post-Cabinet press conference to promise a crackdown on unruly and antisocial state housing tenants. His ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    11 hours ago
  • Will it make the boat go faster?
    Ele Ludemann writes – The Reserve Bank is advertising for a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advisor. The Bank has one mandate – to keep inflation between one and three percent. It has failed in that and is only slowly getting inflation back down to the upper limit. Will it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    13 hours ago
  • Bryce Edwards: Is Simon Bridges’ NZTA appointment a conflict of interest?
    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
    14 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
    14 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
    14 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
    15 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
    16 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
    19 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
    2 days 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
    2 days 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
    2 days 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 ...
    2 days 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
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 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
    12 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
    14 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
    15 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
    5 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
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