The Essential Forest-Gardener – chapter 3

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, October 23rd, 2016 - 58 comments
Categories: climate change, Environment, food, sustainability - Tags: , , , , , ,

The following is a Guest Post from Robert Guyton and is part of a series appearing over 12 Sundays. Other parts can be seen here.

Robert is a sustainability pioneer who along with his family grows the oldest food forest in NZ. A long time organic gardener, permaculturist and heritage orchardist, he’s a columnist, a regional councillor for Environment Southland, and an early climate change adaptor. 

Forest gardens like mine – intentional combinations of forest or woodland with managed food producing plots, are for the moment few and far between. Their numbers are on the rise though, as the idea catches on, especially with the new breed of young parents mindful of the need for homegrown food in the face of climate change. I have the strong suspicion that forest gardens are not a new phenomenon at all and have in fact featured large in the distant past, when according to recent interpretations of archeology, huge tracts of what is now regarded as jungle or forest, show signs of having been managed in a style very similar to that I’m employing here in Riverton.

Without destroying the sturdy framework that a forest provides, past civilizations have grown food crops, material for building and clothing and a host of other useful plant-derived stuff, without clearfelling every standing tree. I like to believe that this was the case and forest gardening is an old practice that served humankind well for aeons, and that it will do so again, once the latest iteration becomes recognised as the way to manage the environment successfully into the far future. These are the sorts of thoughts that occur to someone who has encouraged trees to stand where once there was lawn. The cultivation of a forest garden results in thinking that leads the forest gardener into believing that there is a way to roll back the harm done by industrial agriculture and horticulture and the spread of towns and cities, and that’s through the proliferation of these delightful ‘edible woodlands’ in whatever form, size or style people would like to adopt. In any case, I’ve got mine up and running and I’m not alone in championing them. There are other gardens like mine in New Zealand and beyond and, thanks to the electronic world wide web, anyone interested can browse the efforts of others of my ilk.

Defining a “forest garden” is not a simple task. They take many forms and differ from each other depending upon where in the world they are. Mine sits in a cool to temperate zone, where bananas won’t grow, but apples thrive. Many of the popular forest gardens I’ve seen as film or video, grow in tropical or sub-tropical climates and look more exotic than mine, with their giant bamboos, flambouyant, hummingbird-attracting flowers and huge knobbly fruits. Those differences though, are of detail, rather than broad concept and all can be said to be of the same kind; trees, shrubs, vines and  almost every other class of plant, woven together in a way the mirrors the natural world of plants while at the same time being cultivated for human purpose.

Chaotic is the word that springs to the lips of the conservative gardener, seeing a forest garden for the first time, and the order that does in fact exist in these gardens is a lot more complex than that found in a lawn-and-box-hedge garden, giving the impression of disorder. My own house is surrounded closely with a great range of plants that seem to the visitor, they tell me, to overwhelm and threaten the little colonial cottage we live in. From my point of view, those plants are welcome to tower, even come inside if they would, I’m very comfortable living as a forest creature and don’t need to have a demarcation zone around my home. If I was living in fire-prone Australia or any country that harbours snakes or illness-carrying mosquitoes, I’d change my tune, but here in cool, well-watered Southland where snakes are never found, I can afford to have the garden wrap itself close.

robert-guyton-3

This post is part of a series appearing over 12 Sundays. Other parts can be seen here.

58 comments on “The Essential Forest-Gardener – chapter 3 ”

  • Comments are now closed

  1. TheExtremist 1
    23 October 2016 at 7:42 am

    Maybe off topic slightly but today is my daughters 3rd birthday and we have given her, as one of many gifts, a small beehive. It’s a small cardboard box about the size of a dozen beers and it contains 50 bees and a queen. We are teaching her about how the garden works and about how even the smallest creatures help us grow our food and have a part in our ecosystem

    • Robert Guyton 1.1
      23 October 2016 at 8:28 am

      Good morning, TE. Are those bumble bees or honey bees? I’m guessing bumble and if so, that’s a great gift for anyone, but especially wonderful for a 3 year old.
      My elderly neighbour once offered me a small writing desk in which redundant Christmas decorations from past years were still stored and when I opened the lid, we discovered a nest of bumble bees amongst the baubles and tinsel – it was a curiously attractive combination!

  2. Jenny Kirk 2
    23 October 2016 at 7:56 am

    Your stories make a good start to a Sunday morning, thanks, Robert.

  3. RedLogix 3
    23 October 2016 at 12:42 pm

    As much as the idealist in me loves food forests as Robert is so wonderfully demonstrating, I don’t see this model as being the whole solution on its own. What I’m seeing is a bundle of ideas from vertical planting, urban reclaims, biodynamics, permaculture, aquaculture and landscape scale water management that together will transform our live environments.

    Cities and towns can exploit vertical gardening, or small scale highly productive plots using any number of techniques. This may feel gimmicky to some, but for others with nothing more than a verandah to work with it could be fun:

    http://www.gardentower.com.au/

    Straw baling, worm farming, chooks, ducks, trellising, hot and cool houses all work well at this scale. An entire world of ideas waiting to be explored. We’ve been following this guy for a while, and each year he impresses more and more:

    https://deepgreenpermaculture.com/

    Aquaponics which integrates plant and fish into a tight recycling scheme appeals to the engineer in me and can be implemented on virtually any scale, from something in a few buckets to huge installations. Given how critical water can be in the Australian landscape, it’s not surprising they lead the world:

    http://melbourneaquaponics.com.au/

    Increasingly we will see food crops like hemp, nuts and a much greater diversity of fruits . Read this and see the end of cows milk:

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-23/nsw-farmer-eyes-hemp-as-plant-based-milk-popularity-grows/7956360

    Imagine what could be done here:

    http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-23/rehabilitating-abandoned-mines-could-fill-mining-boom-job-void/7949778

    Then upward to self-sustaining food forests, either family run, community managed, right out to large mixed operations that merge into wilderness at their margins. At this scale techniques like swaling, coppicing, stock management in open grass-lands, become more applicable.

    Globally there’s any amount of indigenous experience and deep knowledge to be respected and learnt from. And the bio-dynamic specialists are always compelling and interesting.

    Going outwards this complex picture is underpinned with far more attention to water management and multiple re-uses over and again. Water can be stored, used, cleaned up, re-vitalised and used over and again, many times for many purposes … at every possible scale within the landscape. And demands absolute attention to ensure this vital common property is protected and respected.

    Step sideways and study Alexanders A Pattern Language to see how complexity can be consciously designed and managed over both space and time. At each scale, from the most intimate up to entire regions, there are patterns which work, patterns which create a sense of belonging, purpose and meaning. Patterns which embrace the human spirit and increase life.

    • greywarshark 3.1
      23 October 2016 at 1:04 pm

      Thanks Red Logix, pretty comprehensive comment. And I am going to file it for looking at later. Once the practical people like yourself and the Guytons can convey their message and demonstrate their experience, the groundwork is done for us others to follow and work out how to adapt our lives and thinking and resources.

      Just random thought. Self-sufficiency is not the way to go to my mind, but building co-operative trading systems, where people can buy homeowners excess cheaply, rather than exchanging them freely. This would put money into supporting the exchange system which could be a cheerful hub of activity and meeting place one day a week say, and the exchange would still be an full-time outlet for organic produce businesses to sell their product commercially. Trade is the lifeblood of a flourishing community that has employment opportunities for its people.

      • RedLogix 3.1.1
        23 October 2016 at 1:26 pm

        Self-sufficiency is not the way to go to my mind

        Totally correct. I can understand the initial appeal of these words. It is how so many trapped into the cycle of wage/debt slavery would frame their dream … to escape the loneliness and quiet despair of their lives as labour units entries on some HR spreadsheet, and live their lives on their own terms.

        But rather than ‘self-sufficiency’, perhaps it would be better termed ‘self-realisation’. That means breaking down loneliness, making strong social connections, belonging to enterprises that embody shared ownership and respect personal agency. Or as you say, trading on your own terms is the economic life-force of all community.

      • Robert Guyton 3.1.2
        23 October 2016 at 3:21 pm

        All I can say to you, greywarshark, is yes, yes, you are on the pulse with your ‘freely exchanged’ ideas.

    • weka 3.2
      23 October 2016 at 2:59 pm

      Biodynamics is bloody interesting and getting very good results. It’s a real pity that we are in such a place of everything has to pass the Science threshold rather than including things that demonstrably work but defy rational explanation at this stage. Fortunately many are just getting on with it, and interesting to see vineyards just doing it and not talking about it. But the prohibition coming from Science is holding us back I think.

      • Robert Guyton 3.2.1
        23 October 2016 at 3:24 pm

        Everything, weka, does not have to pass the “science threshold”.
        As you and I know 🙂
        The ArchDruid has plenty to say about that, so I’ll not pontificate 🙂

        • weka 3.2.1.1
          23 October 2016 at 7:55 pm

          Quite. Plus, what you do is science. Permaculture is science. Biodynamics has its own science. Mātauranga Māori too.

          Anything in particular from the JMG? I don’t read him a lot these days because of the length. I keep thinking I’ll write a post about it myself, but there is only so much arguing one can manage. Maybe I need a more Sunday Magazine approach.

    • Robert Guyton 3.3
      23 October 2016 at 3:17 pm

      Hello RedLogix, thanks for your contribution and deeply thought-out suggestions.
      All I can say in response is, consider the wild! If you do that (and I think you are doing that) all of the details come into fine focus. I’m trying to use the vehicle, “forest garden” to signal one direction to take and that is, go wild. All of your iterations reflect that central theme (I think). I believe the garden I’m describing does engender all of the sub-sets you describe. The most significant act is to think wild. Once that’s established, all else follows and you have described many of the “elses” well. Again, thanks for your input – it’s exciting!

  4. Karen 4
    23 October 2016 at 2:55 pm

    I haven’t visited The Standard at all in the past week (I needed a break) and then, while I was out in my garden, I remembered you would be posting today.

    I have a couple of questions for you:
    I don’t use weedkillers but I’d like to kill off some big dock plants. The roots are too deeply ensconced in my clay based soil for me to dig out. Any ideas? They are enormous plants. I could just keep cutting the leaves back but I really would like the space back.
    The other is can you recommend any literature about permaculture vegetable gardening methods that would work well in an Auckland climate?

    These probably seem very basic questions but I am a very amateur gardener.

    • Robert Guyton 4.1
      23 October 2016 at 3:08 pm

      Hi Karen (sorry I’ve taken so long to respond – I was helping a small community group plant an orchard in a park and it was too much fun to leave them to it. Lots of children and talk – best thing)
      Dock – I love it! Like comfrey, it’s a miner of deep nutrients and trace elements, bringing them back to the surface where they can cycle through your edible plants again. Patience sorrel is a dock look-alike and edible. Dock is a proud plant (personal observation) and should be respected, imho. I leave them be, in fact, I collect the seed and broadcast it everywhere. In my forest garden, there are no invasive plants – there’s no room for them to become a problem – they have to take their place amongst all the other plants, vying for a place in the sun.
      I’m envious of your “enormous plants”, and consider you very fortunate.Congratulations also,for not using weed killlers. You are one of the “Good Ones” 🙂
      Do you know/grow French sorrel? It’s dock-like and delicious!

      • Karen 4.1.1
        23 October 2016 at 3:39 pm

        Hmmm. I certainly do not need to collect the seed – they come up everywhere! I do grow French sorrel but my issue with dock is that I don’t have enough room for everything I would like to grow. Dock grows extremely well in my clay soil and I suspect that if I allowed them all to go to seed there wouldn’t be much else – they obviously also love the Auckland climate.

        My Dad is dead now but I can still hear him telling me off for letting any of them flower. Unfortunately I often get busy with no time for gardening, and the plants I don’t want take over. I do appreciate your philosophy of no plants being invasive, but it isn’t really my experience. I will just have to keep cutting the dock leaves and making sure they don’t seed.

        • Robert Guyton 4.1.1.1
          23 October 2016 at 5:15 pm

          “One year’s seeding means 7 years weeding” is true, but misconstrued, I believe. 7 years of weeds is a blessing, in my view. That wild fecundity is what’s protected us from our own destructive ways – if the wild world hadn’t filled the “dead” spaces we’ve created with “weeds”, we’d have turned the planet into desert generations ago., and it’d be Dune all over. All hail weeds and praise dock from the mountain tops! My approach to invasive plants, is pull ’em off if they are causing immediate concern, but in the long-term, manage them by introducing competition. Increase complexity, make the weeds work for their place. I have no bothersome weeds. It’s a state of mind, invasiveness. Don’t dock your dock! 🙂

      • Corokia 4.1.2
        23 October 2016 at 3:54 pm

        Crickey Robert, sowing dock! I like to have a few plants around to put on nettle stings, but I don’t encourage it.
        Karen I dig out as much of the dock roots as I can. As my vege bed soil has improved I can pull out the plants that self seed there. In the lawn ( sshh don’t tell Robert that I’ve got one, I’ll lose all my credibility ) I just mow it over. And cutting off all seed heads and feeding them to the chooks.

        • Robert Guyton 4.1.2.1
          23 October 2016 at 5:24 pm

          Corokia – dock root (yellow dock at least) is a saleable item, so yes, dig, dry and and sell, if you will, but dock allowed to express itself fully and unmolested is a poem and a badge of honour for the wild gardener/thinker. The problem here, is “vege bed”. Once you’ve partitioned off a plot, differentiated between wild and domesticated, you’ve created a problem. How would it be if you could encourage wild places to supply you with food in return for your cooperation with regard management? Given that “wild” has eons more experience than “domesticated”, I reckon it’s a good deal 🙂

          • corokia 4.1.2.1.1
            23 October 2016 at 8:15 pm

            We are lucky to have 10 ha and have about half in forest that we have planted over 26 years. The forest includes timber trees, firewood trees, and many varieties of fruits and nuts. I invisage climbing beans, asparagus, tree onion and other greens as perennial understory food plants, but when it comes to growing potatoes, carrots, onions and other bulk staple foods, I plead guilty to a fondness for beds.

            • Robert Guyton 4.1.2.1.1.1
              23 October 2016 at 9:15 pm

              Beds are superseded by colonies, in my view. Colonies exist in the wild, beds, not so much. Potatoes colony well, as do asparagus, rhubarb, Jerusalem artichokes,and other edibles. All that is required is some weeding in the early stages and plenty of ongoing mulch and whatever nutrient you can divert toward the fledgling colonies. Carrots are a real problem for the forest gardener (me). The simply don’t fit but there’s no reason to expect that every primped-up modern annual would 🙂
              I trade for/buy my carrots and am always looking for replacements (yams, etc.)

              • Corokia …
                23 October 2016 at 9:40 pm

                It’s fun thinking it through and trying different approaches.

                Any gardening is intervention, otherwise it’s hunter gatherer stuff. Humans would have caused less damage to the world if we had stuck to that, but bit late to revert to it with billions of us now here.

                I think what you are doing is cool and like that you share your knowledge. Your forest garden is a lighter touch on the earth than my bark path edged beds. We need to hear about different ways of growing food because it’s important that we diversify crops and techniques and be adaptable in this new climate that we will now have to deal with.

                • Robert Guyton …
                  23 October 2016 at 9:47 pm

                  Plus, when you wild your surrounding you wild your thinking, in the same way that poetry breaks prose’s hold over thought. We can’t think our way out of the domesticated death-grip we’ve imposed on the wild world, we have to

    • weka 4.2
      23 October 2016 at 4:52 pm

      Design Your Own Orchard by Kay Baxter is a nice intro to permaculture. While not specifically about vege gardening, it’s aimed at home gardeners, has more than just orchard stuff in it, and much of the orchard stuff would be adaptable to other parts of the garden. Baxter was still living at Koanga when she wrote it, so it’s perfect for your climate.

      Paradise Lot is a great read about two guys who established a dense, productive polyculture in their backyard using permaculture.

      Both those are in libraries.

      • Karen 4.2.1
        23 October 2016 at 5:19 pm

        Thanks Weka. In 2013 Kay wrote another book that may be more useful for my purposes than her orchard one so I have ordered that and Paradise Lot from the library – on the waiting list for both!

        • Corokia 4.2.1.1
          23 October 2016 at 7:09 pm

          Paradise in your garden- Smart Permaculture Design by Jenny Allen is good.

        • gsays 4.2.1.2
          23 October 2016 at 9:14 pm

          Hi Karen, this is more observation than solution: at certain times of the moon, about 1-2 days, weeds are easier to pull out than normal. I have done this with big docks from clay.

          • Karen 4.2.1.2.1
            24 October 2016 at 10:15 am

            Which 2 days?

            Message to Robert – don’t worry I will always have many varieties of weeds. I just want to get rid of the ones that are affecting some more precious plants – particularly the ones given to me by my parents, grandfather and one of my closest friends who are all now dead.

  5. weka 5
    23 October 2016 at 3:19 pm

    my question for Robert, or anyone, is how to not lose tools, especially in a rambly garden full of growth. I need a system or technique for remembering where I last used them or how to find them. I’m talking about tools that I used only a few hours ago (have just been looking), or the day before if I got disturbed and didn’t get back before dark. I suspect this says something about the way I garden and tend to move around jobs…

    • fender 5.1
      23 October 2016 at 3:21 pm

      You could write it down on an inventory of your tools perhaps.

    • Karen 5.2
      23 October 2016 at 3:47 pm

      Weka, I used to have that problem too, and I have solved it by tying lots of wide bright sparkly ribbons around the handles in big bows. Much easier to find ( as long at the sun is shining)

    • Corokia 5.3
      23 October 2016 at 3:59 pm

      A metal detector might come in handy for missing tools.

      • gsays 5.3.1
        23 October 2016 at 9:17 pm

        OK confession time: I ‘lost’ a weedeater for 9 months.
        Found it in winter when the grass had died back and kicked it when shifting the goat.

        • Robert Guyton 5.3.1.1
          23 October 2016 at 9:27 pm

          9 months was not long enough, imho 🙂
          The greatest enemy to newly-planted fruit trees is the weed-whacker (and the guy flailing it about.). Usually the harm doesn’t become apparent for a season or two. I think of weed-whackers and lawn mowers in the same way as I regard jet-skiis and SUVs 🙂

          • RedLogix 5.3.1.1.1
            24 October 2016 at 12:40 am

            We found that a few m2 of old carpet, or better still recycled cardboard weed mat is a good way to protect seedlings for the first two years.

            http://ecocover.com/

            Works especially well in settings like community planting groups, or where there isn’t enough time or labour to weed release by hand.

            • BM 5.3.1.1.1.1
              24 October 2016 at 7:48 pm

              Carpet can be a bit of a prick as weed mat, some carpet has this rather indestructible weave of plastic mesh running through it that will have you cursing it many years down the track.

              • b waghorn …
                24 October 2016 at 8:23 pm

                hmmm yes i’ve made that mistake

              • Robert Guyton …
                25 October 2016 at 8:31 am

                A carpet of fallen leaves, otoh, will delight you every year down the track. In the forest garden, weed-suppression is a built-in function. Paths too, need little more attention than a good walking-on and that’s more akin to using your feet to make a salad; crunching the juicy stalks of wild chervil, alexanders and comfrey underfoot as you go about your daily biz.

                • weka …
                  25 October 2016 at 8:57 am

                  Is there no need to ‘release’ saplings from grass in the first few years in the sense of suppressing grass completely? I hear people saying it’s important, but have never been clear if it’s also because of how and where they plant.

                  • Robert Guyton …
                    25 October 2016 at 12:45 pm

                    Grass is challenging to saplings, weka, in that it aims to smother and as well it exudes chemicals to suppress competition – allelopathy. I find it doesn’t need to be destroyed, only set-back. Hand pulling then dropping on site is the best physical solution to the grass issue, but is not always doable. The beauty of an understorey that is herb rather than grass is the ease of management, plus the fragrances. I’m fortunate now in having a garden that’s almost too easy to manage; newly planted saplings are sheltered by many varieties of biennials and perennials, all of which need only to be stood upon to make them into mulch, if needed, and they protect from rabbits and hares as well, neither of which will come into a thickly understoreyed garden like mine. As well, those flowering herbaceous biennials attract hoverflies and other pest-insect destroyers, so the protection is almost total. I’ve not even mentioned the vastly improved quality of the soil and the life therein due to all this vegetation, but that’s another story…

        • weka 5.3.1.2
          23 October 2016 at 11:44 pm

          Classic.

      • Bigdog 5.3.2
        24 October 2016 at 6:48 pm

        The lawnmower seems pretty handy for finding them 😳😂

  6. Robert Guyton 6
    23 October 2016 at 3:25 pm

    Easy, weka. The only tools you need to garden elegantly, are your hands.
    You’re hardly likely to misplace those 🙂

    • weka 6.1
      23 October 2016 at 3:46 pm

      lol. That’s akin to “go not to the elves for advice for they will say both yes and no”.

  7. Robert Guyton 7
    23 October 2016 at 5:30 pm

    Elves are our selves, weka.

  8. RedLogix 8
    23 October 2016 at 6:00 pm

    @Robert

    My partner has a very practical question. Put simply we find that many vegetables, say silverbeet, really need decent light to do well. But if you have trees everywhere, does this not cut down the usable space that gets long sunshine hours?

    Or to put it another way; the very bad habit of clear-felling came about largely because it created a big open space with lots of light and reduced competition from the trees.

    So when we let all the trees back, how does this balance re-assert itself? How do you compensate for the inevitable loss of light?

  9. Robert Guyton 9
    23 October 2016 at 6:44 pm

    That’s a very good and pertinent question, RedLogix’s partner. The “enough-light” issue is the central one, especially for those of us living in southern zones. There are two things to consider: is silver beet the plant for your needs (would a perennial sea-beet be better? A self-seeding tree-spinach perhaps? ) in other words, is there a biennial/perennial alternative to the annual you are accustomed to? Annuals need more light to produce in the limited time they have. Biennials and perennials can take it more slowly and accumulate energy. That said, it’s important to let the sunshine in wherever there are crops for food being grown. I’ve adjusted my canopy to be more open in order to utilise the southern light better. An active pruning regime helps, and adds rapidly to the mulch layer. I’m moving toward my secondary layer (deciduous fruit trees) as a canopy, rather than native evergreens, because of the issue you describe. It’s no problem, just a change of strategy. Thanks for your thoughtful and pointed question.

  10. Stuart Munro 10
    24 October 2016 at 11:57 am

    I wonder if you’ve run across San Nammeul Robert? These are the wild vegetables that are gathered in Korea. After the war the country was poorer than Somalia and people gathered what they could, but they have become respectable as healthy and interesting foods and are widely available now in markets, or from the mountain parkland around cities. One of my professors, Kim Young Woo, was particularly proud of the way they had been developed as a public resource.

    • Robert Guyton 10.1
      24 October 2016 at 1:46 pm

      That’s wonderful to hear, Stuart. I haven’t heard of it in NZ but if it’s here, I’d be very interested to know where. There area lot of new food plants appearing in the gardens of migrants to NZ and they offer new opportunities for us stay-at-home Kiwis to extend the range of our diet and improve our health. I’m growing Chinese yam and a leafy goji that I was given in Auckland recently and they look very promising. San Nammeul though, intriguing…

  11. AsleepWhileWalking 11
    25 October 2016 at 8:40 am

    This is a beautiful concept. I only wish my family had thought of it back in the 80s/early 90s when it was possible to afford enough land to set this up.

    I heard of the Kapiti food forest being set up a few years ago but not sure how far along it has progressed.

  12. AsleepWhileWalking 12
    25 October 2016 at 8:42 am

    This reminds me of Crete where the locals could literally grab food on the run from the Nazis.

    Good book on this is Natural Born Heroes, by Christopher McDougall.

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    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced $802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago
  • Radical law changes needed to build road

    The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #30 2024

    Open access notables Could an extremely cold central European winter such as 1963 happen again despite climate change?, Sippel et al., Weather and Climate Dynamics: Here, we first show based on multiple attribution methods that a winter of similar circulation conditions to 1963 would still lead to an extreme seasonal ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • First they came for the Māori

    Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Join us for the weekly Hoon on YouTube Live

    Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Will the real PM Luxon please stand up?

    Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    2 days ago
  • Will debt reduction trump abuse in care redress?

    Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Care report in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Olywhites and Time Bandits

    About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • Why were the 1930s so hot in North America?

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters and Bob Henson Those who’ve trawled social media during heat waves have likely encountered a tidbit frequently used to brush aside human-caused climate change: Many U.S. states and cities had their single hottest temperature on record during the 1930s, setting incredible heat marks ...
    Skeptical Science
    2 days ago
  • Throwback Thursday – Thinking about Expressways

    Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • The Possum: Demon or Friend?

    Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago
  • Not a story

    Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Thursday, July 25

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry published its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • A tougher line on “proactive release”?

    The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • 'Let's build a motorway costing $100 million per km, before emissions costs'

    TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Lester's Prescription – Positive Bleeding.

    I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Casey Costello gaslights Labour in the House

    Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone icon on the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    3 days ago
  • Why is the Texas grid in such bad shape?

    This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Headline from 2021 The Texas grid, run by ERCOT, has had a rough few years. In 2021, winter storm Uri blacked out much of the state for several days. About a week ago, Hurricane Beryl knocked out ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on a textbook case of spending waste by the Luxon government

    Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • LXR Takaanini

    As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    3 days ago
  • Four kilograms of pain

    Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Wednesday, July 24

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive: Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • Luxon gets caught out

    NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • A worrying sign

    Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Are we fine with 47.9% home-ownership by 2048?

    Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloitte report for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Let's Win This

    You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • Waimahara: The Singing Spirit of Water

    There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
    Greater AucklandBy Connor Sharp
    4 days ago
  • A major milestone: Global climate pollution may have just peaked

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’s Oliver LewisScoop: Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Tuesday, July 23

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announced the Board of Te Whatu Ora- Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • HealthNZ and Luxon at cross purposes over budget blowout

    Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • 2500-3000 more healthcare staff expected to be fired, as Shane Reti blames Labour for a budget defic...

    Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    4 days ago
  • Might Kamala Harris be about to get a 'stardust' moment like Jacinda Ardern?

    As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    5 days ago
  • Solutions Interview: Steven Hail on MMT & ecological economics

    TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
    The KakaBy Steven Hail
    5 days ago
  • Reported back

    The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Vandrad the Viking, Christopher Coombes, and Literary Archaeology

    Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Biden Withdrawal

    History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
    WerewolfBy lyndon
    5 days ago
  • Joe Biden's withdrawal puts the spotlight back on Kamala and the USA's complicated relatio...

    This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    5 days ago
  • Why we have to challenge our national fiscal assumptions

    A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Existential Crisis and Damaged Brains

    What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • A speed limit is not a target, and yet…

    This is a guest post from longtime supporter Mr Plod, whose previous contributions include a proposal that Hamilton become New Zealand’s capital city, and that we should switch which side of the road we drive on. A recent Newsroom article, “Back to school for the Govt’s new speed limit policy“, ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Monday, July 22

    TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #29

    A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
    Skeptical Science
    6 days ago
  • I'd like to share what I did this weekend

    This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • For the children – Why mere sentiment can be a misleading force in our lives, and lead to unex...

    National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Order image, ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • A friend in uncertain times

    Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • The Chaotic World of Male Diet Influencers

    Hi,We’ll get to the horrific world of male diet influencers (AKA Beefy Boys) shortly, but first you will be glad to know that since I sent out the Webworm explaining why the assassination attempt on Donald Trump was not a false flag operation, I’ve heard from a load of people ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • It's Starting To Look A Lot Like… Y2K

    Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Bernard’s Saturday Soliloquy for the week to July 20

    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Pharmac Director, Climate Change Commissioner, Health NZ Directors – The latest to quit this m...

    Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Flooding Housing Policy

    The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    1 week ago
  • A Voyage Among the Vandals: Accepted (Again!)

    As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā's Chorus for Friday, July 19

    An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Pick 'n' Mix for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Roundup 19-July-2024

    Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    1 week ago
  • Weekly Climate Wrap: A market-led plan for failure

    TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Tobacco First

    Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Trump’s Adopted Son.

    Waiting In The Wings: For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
    Bowalley Road
    1 week ago
  • The Kākā’s Journal of Record for Friday, July 19

    TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSA announced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The Hoon around the week to July 19

    TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #29 2024

    Open access notables Improving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society: To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Joint statement from the Prime Ministers of Canada, Australia and New Zealand

    Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue.  We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    16 hours ago
  • AG reminds institutions of legal obligations

    Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    19 hours ago
  • More young people learning about digital safety

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views.  “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    20 hours ago
  • Speech to the Conference for General Practice 2024

    Tēnā tātou katoa,  Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago
  • Employers and payroll providers ready for tax changes

    New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts.  “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    24 hours ago
  • Experimental vineyard futureproofs wine industry

    An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Funding confirmed for regions affected by North Island Weather Events

    The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Indonesian Foreign Minister to visit

    Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced.   “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Strengthening partnership with Ngāti Maniapoto

    He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Transport Minister thanks outgoing CAA Chair

    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Test for Customary Marine Title being restored

    The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says.  “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Opposition united in bad faith over ECE sector review

    Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet.  “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Kiwis having their say on first regulatory review

    After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks.  “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government upgrading Lower North Island commuter rail

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