The Problem with Personification in Politics

Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, April 19th, 2021 - 12 comments
Categories: activism, Deep stuff, democratic participation, education, politicans, Politics, public services - Tags: , ,

From time to time, commenters on this site make the mistake to ascribe a mind and opinion to the site. Firstly, this shows that they have not read the Policy. Secondly, it shows how their clouded thinking leads to wrong conclusions and ineffective comments.

Personification happens all the time. We use metaphorical expressions in our daily language that appear to ascribe human traits to non-human objects. It helps us to relate to these and get some kind of handle on them when they are otherwise too tricky to comprehend fully.

However, in genuine debate, particularly political debate, personification can lead you down the garden path. For example, an oft-made mistake is to personify institutions and organisations such as Ministries. These are complex beasts with mysterious and almost mythical inner workings that ordinary folk like us do not easily recognise and understand; they are quite unfamiliar to us despite the fact that some are apparently omnipresent, in the 24-hour news cycle, at least.

It becomes problematic when we extend these personifications to actual people whom we consider to be ‘at the helm’, e.g. heads of Ministries. As the saying goes, the fish rots from the head, which usually means that the symbolic Ministerial figurehead, i.e. the Minister, is responsible for all ills, perceived or real, allegedly coming from or caused by that Ministry. What’s more, all the human traits associated with the personified Ministry, are extrapolated and projected upon the head leading that Ministry. An alleged culture of or at a Ministry is not a pathological state of mind of a real person. It just does not work that way although it is so easy (and lazy!) to think it is so.

But it goes even further. Sometimes, actually quite often, people use anthropomorphisms, which is to mean that they ascribe human behaviour to Ministries, for example. They may allege that Government, or the State, through their Ministries and ‘agents’, is ‘out to get you’, whatever that means. Ministers and Prime Ministers are said to ‘have blood on their hands’, in some fatal cases.

It is understandable and possibly even true that some people are ‘out there to get you’. Some people may indeed wish you ill or worse. Generally, you know who they are and why they think of you in a certain way; they are real people with whom you have a personal history.

This, however, does not apply to Ministries, no matter how much you personify these. To them, you are just a number, a nameless face; they would not know you from a bar of soap. For the simple fact is that Ministries are not real persons. There is no “they” or “them” as such, nor are Ministries some kind of Borg Collective in which all the public servants are linked in and to a hive mind called ‘the Ministry’ notwithstanding the Beehive.

First personifying Ministries, for example, and then criticising and even attacking them as if they are your personal enemy and a direct and genuine threat to your existence is not uncommon, sadly. It feels real, because our little human brains cannot tell the difference between a real person and an imaginary one, between a real threat and an imaginary one. This might explain the venom and vitriol aimed at Ministers – some more than others – for example, when something goes wrong; inevitably, something always goes ‘wrong’. Because not only are they held personally responsible but also because it becomes personal because we make it personal, and thus (!) it feels personal. Some politicians even receive death threats and politicians have actually been killed by deranged folk overseas.

The paradox of politics appears to be that engagement increases when people feel more passionate about certain things that they do not necessarily consider political or as politics (cue Climate Change or Covid-19). It further increases when politics become polarised and divided. People start to take sides, become partisan, tribal and personal. The result is othering and alienation of our fellow human beings with whom we share our country and society. All this feeds back into each other, of course; political ‘engagement’ and ‘activism’ is a double-edged sword and the storming of Capitol Hill is a case-in-point.

We cannot and should not expect enlightened politicians, our representatives, to rise from our midst if we ourselves are not enlightened – we indeed do elect the Government that we deserve. If this were to happen, we would ignore them at best or demonise and crucify them at worst. A correct knowledge and understanding of the nature of complex things are and how complex political systems and processes work will go a long way to combat our personal and collective ignorance about the democratic process and our place in it and how to evolve it in a meaningful, wise & intelligent, and sustainable way. If we all do our bit, if we lift all boats, we may see the tide rise from status quo and BAU to a better life for all in our society. Until then, we will bicker, whinge, criticise ineffectively, misdirect blame, accuse, attack, and generally go around in circles.

12 comments on “The Problem with Personification in Politics ”

  1. Pat 1

    Personification or revolving door?

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/apr/18/nhs-england-chair-lord-prior-of-brampton-faces-demands-to-explain-greensills-lobbying-of-nhs-bosses

    Ministries may indeed be disinterested of us as individuals but the leaders are not necessarily disinterested in themselves as individuals.

    Cartels are made up of individuals.

  2. Rosemary McDonald 2

    These Ministries are run by real people, persons, personalities.

    In the case of the ministries of Health and Social Development the attitudes and actions of these persons can have a profound impact on the citizens whose existence is dependent on the service they receive from these ministries.

    These public servants have a choice. They can act as if their clients are fellow human beings and citizens who deserve respect and compassion (as it would be reasonable to expect from both Health and Social Development ) or they can behave like heartless arseholes.

    Monthly quotas were imposed at the Ministry of Social Development to prosecute beneficiaries, an inquest into the death of a woman accused of benefit fraud has heard.

    "We had to get one prosecution per month. We had to get $30,000 of debt to be recovered per month," a former MSD investigator told the inquest into the death of Wendy Shoebridge. "Four cases had to be cleared per month."

    Shoebridge, a 41-year-old mother, was found dead in Lower Hutt on April 3, 2011.

    The day before, she opened a letter saying she was to be referred for prosecution over an alleged $22,000 benefit fraud. After her death, that amount fell to about $5500.

    It shouldn't make any difference which flag flies over the Beehive…the persons working for these particular Ministries should always do their work with a profound understanding of the power they wield over those most vulnerable.

    On further consideration, and in my experience, perhaps they do.

  3. Stuart Munro 3

    One of the features of neoliberalism, has been a move within the civil service, and its privatized former services, away from public service, and towards bureaucratic and quasi-corporate convenience.

    Thus we have a state housing entity that doesn't seem very keen on housing people, health services that are scandal ridden and have uneven performances, an MPI that maintains a defunct fisheries quota model and whatever noxious entity is responsible for mass low-quality migration is conducting mass exploitable low-quality migration, and a "conservation" department whose version of conservation is mass poisoning campaigns, to name a few.

    As the recipients of these uniformly poor and overbearing and ineffectual services, I'm not sure why the public should not characterize them as self-serving vermin, and satirize them at every opportunity. There is certainly no pressure for reform to be had from pretending that they are either adequate or motivated by the public interest.

    • greywarshark 3.1

      And further on Stuart Munro's points, there is recognition by academics and those studying politics and its policies, that politicians can draw up laws but the way that bureaucrats interpret them, deliver them, subvert them, even dismiss or defy them, can have a diminishing effect on benefits they were supposed to deliver.

      A culture can grow in a department or agency that exerts a greater power amongst its denizens, than attempts by politicians to rectify or progress better, a situation that needs change. There is a rationale for bad performance in functionaries of some department used by politicians, that it is an 'operational matter not governance' as an excuse for them to withdraw from overview or attempt to direct, and call civil servants to account.

      It can be argued that there is a 'personality' behind those handling operational matters, also politicians. The matter could be related to the idea of the 'shadow' personality of individuals, and also to multiple individuals. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_(psychology).

      Another thing, passing a law will register as a conclusion or solution to a problem in people's minds. They will consider a matter to be dealt with expecting actions that follow its principles as well as 'the letter of the law'. But the actions of functionaries can for a while continue as before and become more unsatisfactory or extreme as a loophole is found or some wording is deliberately misunderstood. This continues until some swingeing behaviour occurs and someone calls authority to account and shows a pattern of bad faith and bad behaviour, and that each case can't be dismissed as a one-off, an anomaly. So a bad-faith 'personality' could be said to have hegemonic power in that department or agency.

  4. Anne 4

    The following is not strictly speaking on the subject matter but I think is a good corollary to it. I refer to the existence of psychopathological individuals in high places within society:

    In his 2011 Great British Psychopath Survey he concluded that the ten professions that have the highest proportion of psychopaths are:

    1. CEOs
    2. Lawyers
    3. Media people (TV and radio)
    4. Sales people
    5. Surgeons
    6. Journalists
    7. Police officers
    8. Clergy
    9. Chefs
    10. Civil servants

    Examples of detrimental effects of a psychopathic boss is increased bullying, conflict, stress, staff turnover, absenteeism and reduction in productivity and in social responsibility.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy_in_the_workplace

    All of them play a significant role in the way the above institutions and entities are viewed and many of us have had first hand experience often with highly distressing consequences.

    I concur with Stuart Munro that the advent of neoliberalism has had a detrimental effect on our Public Services and their SOE counterparts in particular.

    A lack of understanding how ministries operate is only part of the problem – albeit and important part.

    • Descendant Of Smith 4.1

      I tend to disagree a little with the premise that Ministers aren't accountable/responsible for their direct involvement in a department or ministry.

      Ministers put things in Chief Executive contracts which then drive particular focuses in departments. Whether this be a positive or negative measure is a moot point. These things will drive certain approaches and behaviours which may or may not be public. This may be targets, this may be the type of people recruited/promoted/demoted, this may be the "we can do more" attitude by CE's wanting to impress the Minister.

      As management theory is essentially built on distrust of the level below you then the aspects in the contract can escalate as they go down the chain as over arching requirements.

      This has been so since the CE's moved from the SSC to the Minister. There is some good research and evaluation around of the reforms both here and overseas – Management by Objectives and so on. I'm starting to study this more as part of my advocacy work to try and understand why we end up with an end point of public servants doing bad things – remember it wasn't Trump separating the children, nor Hitler rounding up people for the gas chamber. It was public servants.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Public_Management

      • Anne 4.1.1

        I'm starting to study this more as part of my advocacy work to try and understand why we end up with an end point of public servants doing bad things – …

        I was a public servant for 24 years in a small government department whose impact on every aspect of a person's life was near total. We lived and worked by the Public Service manual of regulations… everyone knew what was expected of them and by and large our work places were harmonious places.

        It all came to a sudden end and without warning in the late 1980s and early 1990s with the advent of the neoliberal market-place political philosophy. The department was taken over by a bunch of out-of-town cowboys who had little to no knowledge of the specialised work that we did. Rules which had previously governed the smooth running of the department were abandoned. Field offices were closed and more than half the staff lost their jobs.

        We're cutting staff numbers and slimming down in the interest of efficiency – they said. It was rubbish. They were building a little fiefdom for themselves where they had all encompassing power and control over everyone else.

        It didn't last. Within five years the department nearly sank between the waves, but was fortunately resurrected in the form of an SOE and placed in the management of people with a proper understanding of the department's role and responsibilities.

        That public entity had a happy ending but others were not so lucky.

        I hope that at least in part helps to answer your question DOS.

  5. greywarshark 5

    Was Mao suggesting that a hegemonic personality was growing amongst government personnel when he said this?

    A dangerous tendency has shown itself of late among many of our personnel – an unwillingness to share the joys and hardships of the masses, a concern for personal fame and gain. This is very bad. One way of overcoming it is to simplify our organisations in the course of our campaign to increase production and practise economy, and to transfer cadres to lower levels so that a considerable number will return to productive work.
    (On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People – February 27, 1967 – 1st pocket ed., p.71)

    We seem to have some similar problems to those he posited.

    • Tiger Mountain 5.1

      to paraphrase Mao “Revolutionaries should move amongst the people as a fish swims in the sea”…

      Note; Mao did not say petit bourgeois, right opportunists and neo liberal Labour MPs should do that…

  6. AB 6

    The tendency to personify arises at least in part from the impoverishment of our notion of 'responsibility'. Three and a bit decades of the neolib project have left us with the idea that all responsibility is personal – other types (collective, moral) have sort of evaporated. This simplification has served the neolib project well – if things are going badly for you, it's because you have shown deficient levels of personal responsibility.

    This soon metastasises into an ingrained belief that if anything goes a bit awry anywhere – someone has stuffed up. You can hear it in Suzuie Ferguson's tone on RNZ, as she fearlessly (in her own mind) questions her guests, digging deep to expose the trangressor somewhere in the hierarchy who must be sacked forthwith. It's all sort of dumb and unreal. We need to be re-grounded in the idea that there is an agreed collective intent of the systems we create – and that everything is (or should be) a sort of movement in the direction of that intent, like a river with fast and slow currents, frustrating back eddies and dead-end backwaters.

  7. MSD, MBIE, etc are very complex *systems* maintained by public service minions.

    https://how.complexsystems.fail/

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    4 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
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    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    4 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
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    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
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    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
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    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
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    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
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  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
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    5 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
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    5 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
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    5 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
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    5 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
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    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
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    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
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    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • There’s a name for this
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    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Echoes of 1968 in 2024?  Pocock on the repetitive problems of the New Left
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Recent events in American universities point to an underlying crisis of coherent thinking, an issue that increasingly affects the progressive left across the Western world. This of course is nothing new as anyone who can either remember or has read of the late ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Two bar blues
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    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 13
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Angus Deaton on rethinking his economics IMFLocal scoop: The people behind Tamarind, the firm that left a $500m cleanup bill for taxpayers at Taranaki’s Tui oil well, are back operating in Taranaki under a different company name. Jonathan ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • AT Need To Lift Their Game
    Normally when we talk about accessing public transport it’s about improving how easy it is to get to, such as how easy is it to cross roads in a station/stop’s walking catchment, is it possible to cycle to safely, do bus connections work, or even if are there new routes/connections ...
    6 days ago
  • Christopher's Whopper.
    Politicians are not renowned for telling the truth. Some tell us things that are verifiably not true. They offer statements that omit critical pieces of information. Gloss over risks, preferring to offer the best case scenario.Some not truths are quite small, others amusing in their transparency. There are those repeated ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days 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
    3 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
    5 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
    6 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
    19 hours ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    24 hours 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
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    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
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    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
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    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
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    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
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    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
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    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
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    5 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
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    5 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
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    5 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
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    5 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
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    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
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    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
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    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
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    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
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    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
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    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
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  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
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    7 days ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
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    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
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    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
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    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
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    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
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    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
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    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
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    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
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    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
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    1 week ago
  • Pacific Language Weeks celebrate regional unity
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    1 week ago

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