The Promises of Lange, Moore, Bolger, and the WTO

Written By: - Date published: 9:15 am, August 4th, 2024 - 26 comments
Categories: capitalism, Deep stuff, economy, Globalisation, International, Politics - Tags:

If one were to boil down the harvest of promises, ripe hopes, and vintage-deep beliefs from the late 1980s and 1990s by our political leaders, business leaders and their spokespeople, endless columnists, think-tank writers and quangoes, you’d find the following.

The power of the nation-state is waning, and we’ve done well to accelerate that decline.

Such states as we know them are not particularly useful and often dying anyway.

In the future, power will lie with global markets. Free markets.

Thus economics not politics or armies, will henceforth shape human events.

Freed of national interests and inhibiting regulations, global markets will gradually establish global economic balances.

Through this new balance humanity and New Zealand in particular will outgrow the eternal problem of boom-bust cycles.

Such markets will unleash surges of international trade, and then a broad tide of sustained economic growth.

That tide will raise all ships including those of the poor, right across the world.

That resulting prosperity will allow put-upon individuals to convert dictatorships into democracies.

Those democracies won’t have the power of the old nation-states, which is great because that means a shrivelling-away of irresponsible nationalism, racism, and political violence.

The stupendous size of these multinational markets will require ever-larger corporations. Their size will raise them above the risks of bankruptcy. This will cause a much more stable world all round. They will become like virtual states, quite impervious to the prejudices of individual sovereign governments.

As the power balance between corporations and states recalibrates, new conditions for optimised healthy governance are formed, and so we will see the emergence of debt-free government. Neither markets nor remaining society will stand for any less.

We will follow our collective self-interest through markets  towards a life of prosperity and happiness.

The old cycles of history will have been broken.

And if New Zealand followed all of this more rigorously than anyone else, faster than anyone else, our own market dominance in dairy and meat products will see us truly dominate those specific markets, and New Zealand will be richer for it beyond its wildest dreams.

In 2024 we ought to ask which of the above was true. 

There’s plenty of evidence. 

Because there have been and always will be alternatives to act upon. 

26 comments on “The Promises of Lange, Moore, Bolger, and the WTO ”

  1. Tiger Mountain 1

    Where does one start with that pile…perhaps with the fact that markets are code for monopoly capital and international finance capital. They are malevolent rather than benevolent systems for billions of people.

    “Trickle down” has not delivered for the vast majority–as finally admitted by World Bank, IMF and OECD–wealth becomes concentrated in ever fewer hands. There were 3,194 billionaires worldwide in 2022.
    https://www.forbesindia.com/article/explainers/top-10-richest-people-world/85541/1

    Nation States have become more prominent not less as shooting wars and potential wars are increasing.

    The trend towards right opportunism and populism around the world ala Trump’s attitude to free trade and various others sees not a cheery globalism but isolationism. After the 2020/21 major COVID world supply chain disruption with container ships queuing for weeks to unload, “just in time” and offshore production are being revisited by a number of US and other corporates.

    As for “dominate in Dairy and Meat”, well that has its own blow back for NZ waterways and environment. This is a long narrow land of plenty–but we have still not managed to feed all our kids or resolve post colonial fall out–and it is not likely until new gens participate more and a few more boomer funerals occur.*

    *I’m of boomer age but a left aligned one that opposed Rogernomics and state asset sales from the start.

    • Karolyn_IS 1.1

      Agree. Ad's post seems quite utopian, but neglects a lot of countering details, like the ones TM mentions. Also, within nation states, we already have vast inequalities eg the US is the poster child for such inequalities. If there's no international regulations and weak governance locally, how will profiteers and criminals be policed? And surely there'd be more social discontent, riots, etc?

      • Anne 1.1.1

        If there's no international regulations and weak governance locally, how will profiteers and criminals be policed? And surely there'd be more social discontent, riots, etc?

        Precisely. Ad seems to have forgotten to include the human element in his vision of Utopia. Remember Adam of biblical fame? He stole the apple after having been told not to touch it. Nothing has changed and nothing ever will.

    • Ad 1.2

      Clearly you missed how the piece is a condensed critique of an entire ideology of 30 years of globalisation.

      The arc was covered well before Stiglitz' "Glbalisation and its Distontents", well before Wolff, or Professor Kelsey or Easton or Jesson, in fact even John Ralston Saul had a go at it 20 years ago.

      If Helen Clark had generated something akin to Biden's Inflation Reduction Act we would have had a nation-regarding framework for Ardern to build on. That act is the full-throated repudiation of globalisation that we've been waiting for here.

  2. SPC 2

    One perspective about what the end of nation state capacity means – declining local infrastructure (unless funded by global corporations creating shareholder returns) and only offering market efficiencies in health and smashing of the teacher unions in education. He neglected to add Hooton's end company tax … let the private sector grow (though he was prepared to consider a CGT)

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/money/350364940/damien-grant-we-may-be-avoiding-technical-recession-we-are-failing-confront-reality

    An article about a world economy, written as if the decline of the WTO and the separation of China from the western supply chain had not occurred. And while there is still no international agreement about taxation of global corporations or tax haven rules. Let alone the growing isolationism in the USA and the EU cartel.

    Maybe you should have written speeches for TM BJ, LT and R, the island (sans EU) trading with the world, more opportunity for the City than the days of empire.

    It only makes sense, in the context of GW, which the Pentagon sees as generating political instability, causing the collapse of national borders (and or indebtedness).

    There is an answer to national indebtedness – MMT and variants of, but that will be resisted by private capital. That decision will decide the fate of democracy – if corporates rule, democracy will be local council elections.

    • Ad 2.1

      Damien Grant is an outrageous right-winger who simply underscores how badly we miss good analysts like Rod Oram. It is particularly sad that James Shaw has chosen to take the Infratil money and run rather than engage in the public sphere and debate.

  3. SPC 3

    In 2024 we ought to ask which of the above was true.

    About the neo-liberal con

    There’s plenty of evidence.

    Home ownership now under 60% and expected to be under 50% by 2050.

    Because there have been and always will be alternatives to act upon.

    Fooled once, it's on them … fooled …

    • Ad 3.1

      Home ownership is an interesting metric, but the big one is the speed of shift from being an egalitarian society with a narrow band between richest and poorest, to a simply massive pool of the poor and a tiny 1% with $7m net wealth or more …

      … and an even tinier .5% with over $20 million or more. That's a group about the size of Kerikeri: 8,000 people controlling the wealth of 5 million people.

  4. SPC 4

    Maybe a speech for CL … the landlord class audience would have liked something more to applaud than than two arithmetic tests each year for the kids (so they can do back of the envelope budget forecasting accurately)

  5. Barfly 5

    The neo-liberal boom times have been a time of world wide robbery of the assets that nations had built up over decades. angry

  6. gsays 6

    Thanks Ad.

    We are getting ever increasing stories which highlight how this terrible experiment has failed the citizens.

    Welfare for working people that extends to a government direct subsidy to power company shareholders and lanlords winter energy payment and accomadation supplement.

    Home ownership dropping.

    The over subscribing of early childhood education (babysitting).

    Corporatising of our health system leading to a running down of facilities, post code lottery of health provision, importation of foreign staffing that does not represent our population all in the name of the balance sheet.

    The migration tap on full without the requisite investment on infrastructure.

    A government too shy to build big infrastructure projects because we now lack the capacity to do it ourselves. Time for a Ministry of Works 2,0.

    The trajectory is not good.

    • aj 6.1

      Time for a Ministry of Works 2,0.

      Sean Sweeney says much the same without spelling it out. A very interesting interview.

      Auckland City Rail Link: CEO on why NZ struggles to build stuff | Q+A 2024

      If everything had gone to plan, Auckland's City Rail Link would be up and running by now. But instead, the biggest city's largest infrastructure project is way over the original budget, and years behind the original schedule. Q+A speaks to outgoing City Rail Link CEO Sean Sweeney about why New Zealand seems to struggle to complete large infrastructure projects on time and on budget.

      • tWig 6.1.1

        In fact, Te Ahu a Turanga –the 11 km Manawatū Tararua Highway rebuild run by a comglomerate of Waka Kotahi, construction firms and local iwi, with inbuilt reforestation and a $620mi budget – is well on track and on budget, no PPP involved Something you hear nothing about, funnily enough.

        In a recent excursion trainride through the Gorge, we passed the amazing, huge, curving uphill Viaduct (half-finished), at the Manawatū end. Awesome engineering!

        So this project challenges the story of poor local capacity and implementation for such projects. Even with the dreaded ‘iwi involvement’. It may be a short project, but it's not small, with 6 bridges and a shitload of earthmoving.

  7. thinker 7

    I'm old enough to remember life before neo liberalism but was a child then.

    So, I have 2 questions:

    1. If a government decided to throw out neoliberalism, what workable alternatives are out there? I'm not sure the welfare state as it existed is right for these times.

    2. Is neoliberalism harder to get out of, the longer it's been in place?

    • gsays 7.1

      In answer to 1, I'm no political scientist but something like a social democrat government with a healthy dose of protection for important industries.

      Clothing and textiles, pharmaceutical, etc.

      While we are at it, reform of the tax system where we tax all the transactions that take place outside of the current tax umbrella eg currency speculation and shares changing hands.

      Kiwibank given the ability to do all the government's banking.

      As for 2, we don’t have to be rid of it immediately, Bite size chunks. For example, hospitals bring catering back in-house, along with laundry and security.

      • tWig 7.1.1

        NZ Post for all official mail. Local contracters preferred for eg supply of Defence Force uniforms.

  8. georgecom 8

    I was musing about something similar this morning albeit from a different starting point.

    My point of departure was the seeming pretty obvious need for a CGT in NZ, if for only 2 reasons. First it is a source of new income for the state at a time when budgets are in deficit and we have to pay for Willis' tax cuts somehow. Second it does not seem logical to have a source of income untaxed when most other sources are, a dollar earnt is a dollar earnt and should be taxed accordingly.

    Turning then to arguments why capital gains should not be taxed the best I could come up with is along the lines of higher taxes stifle investment and growth, lower taxes encourage investment and economic growth, jobs, wealth creation, prosperity etc. The promises of Douglas – Richardson – Brash and the new right This then leads to the reality of those statements.

    The vision we were sold in the 1980s was a virtuous neoliberal vision of economic growth, increases in productivity, rising incomes and prosperity. Historical cycles of growth and recession somehow alleviated, a golden epoch of market led prosperity just around the corner. A flat tax system the ultimate expression of that ideal and the ultimate expression of low taxes lead to sustained growth and prosperity.

    So that neo-liberal vision in reality. We have had growth and recession, productivity has not romped ahead in leaps and bounds and wealth has flowed up but not cascaded back down in any extent the vision suggested. Investment has not flooded into productive endeavours that make the country as a whole richer, much of it has been sunk into assets like housing. Free markets have not been self sustaining, financial markets blew apart in 2008, quickly contaminating the real economy, delivering the biggest economic shock since the Wall Street crash.

    Seems to me that a CGT is a pretty obvious thing to have, the substantive arguments of merit against it perhaps being around the complexity of implementing such a tax but not the merits of the tax itself.

    • thinker 8.1

      I might be too simplistic but another thing that occurred to me is that when times are hard ordinary people can keep the money they earn, but it doesn't go far.

      When times are good, banks are allowed to raise interest rates which seems to me to be another way of saying the banks get to have some of the extra money you earn (delivered in part to the banks shareholders) until the economy contracts again.

      Am I missing something?

  9. E. Burke 9

    Promises not delivered? Some people are hard to please

    Global Poverty

    Poverty rate worldwide | Statista

    1990 37% of the worldwide population lived in poverty.

    2019 8% are in poverty and still reducing

    Life expectancy (Same source)

    1990 Worldwide life expectancy 63 years

    2021 Worldwide life expectancy: 71 years

    • gsays 9.2

      @E Burke: How about some stats from Aotearoa?

      Including house affordability in relation to wages and inequality.

    • SPC 9.3

      Over the past 30 years, there has been an almost constant reduction in the poverty rate worldwide. Whereas nearly 38 percent of the world's population lived on less than 2.15 U.S. dollars in terms of 2017 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) in 1990, this had fallen to 8.4 percent in 2019. This is despite the fact that the world's population was growing over the same period.

      It's only one measure – and without reference to living costs.

      Age.

      Medical developments.

      More farm production and food aid.

      Poverty

      Foreign aid. Development focused local area charity (down to the scale of small business finance for village women). Distribution of technology (clean water/power/information) to governments and regions and schooling.

      Third world environmental degradation or exploitation of labour for lower cost production within the global supply system is a secondary, not primary, characteristic, in poverty reduction.

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    An Infrastructure New Zealand report says we are keeping up with infrastructure better than we might have thought from the grumbling. But the challenge of providing for the future remains.I was astonished to learn that the quantity of our infrastructure has been keeping up with economic growth. Your paper almost ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    6 days ago
  • Councils reject racism

    Last month, National passed a racist law requiring local councils to remove their Māori wards, or hold a referendum on them at the 2025 local body election. The final councils voted today, and the verdict is in: an overwhelming rejection. Only two councils out of 45 supported National's racist agenda ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Homage to Simeon Brown

    Open to all - happy weekend ahead, friends.Today I just want to be petty. It’s the way I imagine this chap is -Not only as a political persona. But his real-deal inner personality, in all its glory - appears to be pure pettiness & populist driven.Sometimes I wonder if Simeon ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    6 days ago
  • Government of deceit

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    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • The professionals actually think and act like our Government has no fiscal crisis at all

    Treasury staff at work: The demand for a new 12-year Government bond was so strong, Treasury decided to double the amount of bonds it sold. Photo: Lynn GrievesonMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Friday, September ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 6-September-2024

    Welcome to another Friday and another roundup of stories that caught our eye this week. As always, this and every post is brought to you by the Greater Auckland crew. If you like our work and you’d like to see more of it, we invite you to join our regular ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    6 days ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies; Excerpt Four.

    Internal versus external security. Regardless of who rules, large countries can afford to separate external and internal security functions (even if internal control functions predominate under authoritarian regimes). In fact, given the logic of power concentration and institutional centralization of … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    6 days ago
  • A Hole In The River

    There's a hole in the river where her memory liesFrom the land of the living to the air and skyShe was coming to see him, but something changed her mindDrove her down to the riverThere is no returnSongwriters: Neil Finn/Eddie RaynerThe king is dead; long live the queen!Yesterday was a ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Bright Blue His Jacket Ain’t But I Love This Fellow: A Review and Analysis of The Rings of Power E...

    My conclusion last week was that The Rings of Power season two represented a major improvement in the series. The writing’s just so much better, and honestly, its major problems are less the result of the current episodes and more creatures arising from season one plot-holes. I found episode three ...
    7 days ago
  • Who should we thank for the defeat of the Nazis

    As a child in the 1950s, I thought the British had won the Second World War because that’s what all our comics said. Later on, the films and comics told me that the Americans won the war. In my late teens, I found out that the Soviet Union ...
    7 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #36 2024

    Open access notables Diurnal Temperature Range Trends Differ Below and Above the Melting Point, Pithan & Schatt, Geophysical Research Letters: The globally averaged diurnal temperature range (DTR) has shrunk since the mid-20th century, and climate models project further shrinking. Observations indicate a slowdown or reversal of this trend in recent decades. ...
    1 week ago
  • Join us for the weekly Hoon on YouTube Live at 5pm

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    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Media Link: Discussing the NZSIS Security Threat Report.

    I was interviewed by Mike Hosking at NewstalkZB and a few other media outlets about the NZSIS Security Threat Report released recently. I have long advocated for more transparency, accountability and oversight of the NZ Intelligence Community, and although the … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 week ago
  • How do I make this better for people who drive Ford Rangers?

    Home, home again to a long warm embrace. Plenty of reasons to be glad to be back.But also, reasons for dejection.You, yes you, Simeon Brown, you odious little oik, you bible thumping petrol-pandering ratfucker weasel. You would be Reason Number One. Well, maybe first among equals with Seymour and Of-Seymour ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago
  • A missed opportunity

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    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Nicola Willis Seeks New Sidekick To Help Fix NZ’s Economy

    Synopsis:Nicola Willis is seeking a new Treasury Boss after Dr Caralee McLiesh’s tenure ends this month. She didn’t listen to McLiesh. Will she listen to the new one?And why is Atlas Network’s Taxpayers Union chiming in?Please consider subscribing or supporting my work. Thanks, Tui.About CaraleeAt the beginning of July, Newsroom ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Inflation alive and kicking in our land of the long white monopolies

    The golden days of profit continue for the the Foodstuffs (Pak’n’Save and New World) and Woolworths supermarket duopoly. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāMōrena. Long stories short; here’s my top six things to note in Aotearoa’s political economy around housing, climate and poverty on Thursday, September 5:The Groceries Commissioner has ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • The thermodynamics of electric vs. internal combustion cars

    This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler I love thermodynamics. Thermodynamics is like your mom: it may not tell you what you can do, but it damn well tells you what you can’t do. I’ve written a few previous posts that include thermodynamics, like one on air capture of ...
    1 week ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt Three.

    The notion of geopolitical  “periphery.” The concept of periphery used here refers strictly to what can be called the geopolitical periphery. Being on the geopolitical periphery is an analytic virtue because it makes for more visible policy reform in response … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 week ago
  • Venus Hum

    Fill me up with soundThe world sings with me a million smiles an hourI can see me dancing on my radioI can hear you singing in the blades of grassYellow dandelions on my way to schoolBig Beautiful Sky!Song: Venus Hum.Good morning, all you lovely people, and welcome to the 700th ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • I Went to a Creed Concert

    Note: The audio attached to this Webworm compliments today’s newsletter. I collected it as I met people attending a Creed concert. Their opinions may differ to mine. Read more ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 week ago
  • Government migration policy backfires; thousands of unemployed nurses

    The country has imported literally thousands of nurses over the past few months yet whether they are being employed as nurses is another matter. Just what is going on with HealthNZ and it nurses is, at best, opaque, in that it will not release anything but broad general statistics and ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 week ago
  • A Time For Unity.

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    1 week ago
  • Climate Change: Failed again

    National's tax cut policies relied on stealing revenue from the ETS (previously used to fund emissions reduction) to fund tax cuts to landlords. So how's that going? Badly. Today's auction failed again, with zero units (of a possible 7.6 million) sold. Which means they have a $456 million hole in ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • Security Politics in Peripheral Democracies: Excerpt Two.

    A question of size. Small size generally means large vulnerability. The perception of threat is broader and often more immediate for small countries. The feeling of comparative weakness, of exposure to risk, and of potential intimidation by larger powers often … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    1 week ago
  • Nicola Willis’s Very Unserious Bungling of the Kiwirail Interislander Cancellation

    Open to all with kind thanks to all subscribers and supporters.Today, RNZ revealed that despite MFAT advice to Nicola Willis to be very “careful and deliberate” in her communications with the South Korean government, prior to any public announcement on cancelling Kiwirail’s i-Rex, Willis instead told South Korea 26 minutes ...
    Mountain TuiBy Mountain Tui
    1 week ago
  • Satisfying the Minister’s Speed Obsession

    The Minister of Transport’s speed obsession has this week resulted in two new consultations for 110km/h speed limits, one in Auckland and one in Christchurch. There has also been final approval of the Kapiti Expressway to move to 110km/h following an earlier consultation. While the changes will almost certainly see ...
    1 week ago
  • What if we freed up our streets, again?

    This guest post is by Tommy de Silva, a local rangatahi and freelance writer who is passionate about making the urban fabric of Tāmaki Makaurau-Auckland more people-focused and sustainable. New Zealand’s March-April 2020 Level 4 Covid response (aka “lockdown”) was somehow both the best and worst six weeks of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    1 week ago
  • No Alarms And No Surprises

    A heart that's full up like a landfillA job that slowly kills youBruises that won't healYou look so tired, unhappyBring down the governmentThey don't, they don't speak for usI'll take a quiet lifeA handshake of carbon monoxideAnd no alarms and no surprisesThe fabulous English comedian Stewart Lee once wrote a ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Five ingenious ways people could beat the heat without cranking the AC

    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Daisy Simmons Every summer brings a new spate of headlines about record-breaking heat – for good reason: 2023 was the hottest year on record, in keeping with the upward trend scientists have been clocking for decades. With climate forecasts suggesting that heat waves ...
    1 week ago

  • New Bill to crack down on youth vaping

    The coalition Government has introduced legislation to tackle youth vaping, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The Smokefree Environments and Regulated Products Amendment Bill (No 2) is aimed at preventing youth vaping.  “While vaping has contributed to a significant fall in our smoking rates, the rise in youth vaping ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 hours ago
  • Interest in agricultural and horticultural products regulatory review welcomed

    Regulation Minister David Seymour, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds, and Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard have welcomed interest in the agricultural and horticultural products regulatory review. The review by the Ministry for Regulation is looking at how to speed up the process to get farmers and growers access to the safe, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 hours ago
  • Bill to allow online charity lotteries passes first reading

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government is moving at pace to ensure lotteries for charitable purposes are allowed to operate online permanently. Charities fundraising online, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust and local hospices will continue to do ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 hours ago
  • Tax exempt threshold changes to benefit startups

    Technology companies are among the startups which will benefit from increases to current thresholds of exempt employee share schemes, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Revenue Minister Simon Watts say. Tax exempt thresholds for the schemes are increasing as part of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2024-25, Emergency ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 hours ago
  • Getting the healthcare you need, when you need it

    The path to faster cancer treatment, an increase in immunisation rates, shorter stays in emergency departments and quick assessment and treatments when you are sick has been laid out today. Health Minister Dr Shane Reti has revealed details of how the ambitious health targets the Government has set will be ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Targeted supports to accelerate reading

    The coalition Government is delivering targeted and structured literacy supports to accelerate learning for struggling readers. From Term 1 2025, $33 million of funding for Reading Recovery and Early Literacy Support will be reprioritised to interventions which align with structured approaches to teaching. “Structured literacy will change the way children ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Survivors invited to Abuse in Care national apology

    With two months until the national apology to survivors of abuse in care, expressions of interest have opened for survivors wanting to attend. “The Prime Minister will deliver a national apology on Tuesday 12 November in Parliament. It will be a very significant day for survivors, their families, whānau and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • Rangatahi inspire at Ngā Manu Kōrero final

    Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini kē - My success is not mine alone but is the from the strength of the many. Aotearoa New Zealand’s top young speakers are an inspiration for all New Zealanders to learn more about the depth and beauty conveyed ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    10 hours ago
  • Driving structured literacy in schools

    The coalition Government is driving confidence in reading and writing in the first years of schooling. “From the first time children step into the classroom, we’re equipping them and teachers with the tools they need to be brilliant in literacy. “From 1 October, schools and kura with Years 0-3 will receive ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Labour’s misleading information is disappointing

    Labour’s misinformation about firearms law is dangerous and disappointing, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee says.   “Labour and Ginny Andersen have repeatedly said over the past few days that the previous Labour Government completely banned semi-automatic firearms in 2019 and that the Coalition Government is planning to ‘reintroduce’ them.   ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Govt takes action on mpox response, widens access to vaccine

    The Government is taking immediate action on a number of steps around New Zealand’s response to mpox, including improving access to vaccine availability so people who need it can do so more easily, Health Minister Dr Shane Reti and Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. “Mpox is obviously a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Next steps agreed for Treaty Principles Bill

    Associate Justice Minister David Seymour says Cabinet has agreed to the next steps for the Treaty Principles Bill. “The Treaty Principles Bill provides an opportunity for Parliament, rather than the courts, to define the principles of the Treaty, including establishing that every person is equal before the law,” says Mr Seymour. “Parliament ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Government unlocking potential of AI

    Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins today announced a programme to drive Artificial Intelligence (AI) uptake among New Zealand businesses. “The AI Activator will unlock the potential of AI for New Zealand businesses through a range of support, including access to AI research experts, technical assistance, AI tools and resources, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Government releases Wairoa flood review findings

    The independent rapid review into the Wairoa flooding event on 26 June 2024 has been released, Environment Minister Penny Simmonds, Local Government Minister Simeon Brown and Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced today. “We welcome the review’s findings and recommendations to strengthen Wairoa's resilience against future events,” Ms ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Promoting faster payment times for government

    The Government is sending a clear message to central government agencies that they must prioritise paying invoices in a timely manner, Small Business and Manufacturing Minister Andrew Bayly says. Data released today promotes transparency by publishing the payment times of each central government agency. This data will be published quarterly ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Acknowledgement to Kīngi Tuheitia speech

    E te māngai o te Whare Pāremata, kua riro māku te whakaputa i te waka ki waho moana. E te Pirimia tēnā koe.Mr Speaker, it is my privilege to take this adjournment kōrero forward.  Prime Minister – thank you for your leadership. Taupiri te maunga Waikato te awa Te Wherowhero ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Interim fix to GST adjustment rules to support businesses

    Inland Revenue can begin processing GST returns for businesses affected by a historic legislative drafting error, Revenue Minister Simon Watts says. “Inland Revenue has become aware of a legislative drafting error in the GST adjustment rules after changes were made in 2023 which were meant to simplify the process. This ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Strong uptake for cervical screening self-test

    More than 80 per cent of New Zealand women being tested have opted for a world-leading self-test for cervical screening since it became available a year ago. Minister of Health Dr Shane Reti and Associate Minister Casey Costello, in her responsibility for Women’s Health, say it’s fantastic to have such ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Ministry for Regulation’s first Strategic Intentions document sets ambitious direction

    Regulation Minister David Seymour welcomes the Ministry for Regulation’s first Strategic Intentions document, which sets out how the Ministry will carry out its work and deliver on its purpose. “I have set up the Ministry for Regulation with three tasks. One, to cut existing red tape with sector reviews. Two, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Māori Education Advisory Group established

    The Education Minister has established a Māori Education Ministerial Advisory Group made up of experienced practitioners to help improve outcomes for Māori learners. “This group will provide independent advice on all matters related to Māori education in both English medium and Māori medium settings. It will focus on the most impactful ways we can lift ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Government welcomes findings of NZ Superannuation Fund review

    The Government has welcomed the findings of the recent statutory review into the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund, Minister of Finance Nicola Willis says. The 5-yearly review, conducted on behalf of Treasury and tabled in Parliament today, found the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • First of five new Hercules aircraft takes flight

    Defence Minister Judith Collins today welcomed the first of five new C-130J-30 Hercules to arrive in New Zealand at a ceremony at the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s Base Auckland, Whenuapai. “This is an historic day for our New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) and our nation. The new Hercules fleet ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Have your say on suicide prevention

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    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Action to grow the rural health workforce

    Scholarships awarded to 27 health care students is another positive step forward to boost the future rural health workforce, Associate Health Minister Matt Doocey says. “All New Zealanders deserve timely access to quality health care and this Government is committed to improving health outcomes, particularly for the one in five ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Pharmac delivering more for Kiwis following major funding boost

    Associate Health Minister with responsibility for Pharmac David Seymour has welcomed the increased availability of medicines for Kiwis resulting from the Government’s increased investment in Pharmac. “Pharmac operates independently, but it must work within the budget constraints set by the Government,” says Mr Seymour. “When our Government assumed office, New ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Sport Minister congratulates NZ’s Paralympians

    Sport & Recreation Minister Chris Bishop has congratulated New Zealand's Paralympic Team at the conclusion of the Paralympic Games in Paris.  “The NZ Paralympic Team's success in Paris included fantastic performances, personal best times, New Zealand records and Oceania records all being smashed - and of course, many Kiwis on ...
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    3 days ago
  • Government progresses response to Abuse in Care recommendations

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    6 days ago
  • Passport wait times back on-track

    Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says passport processing has returned to normal, and the Department of Internal Affairs [Department] is now advising customers to allow up to two weeks to receive their passport. “I am pleased that passport processing is back at target service levels and the Department ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • New appointments to the FMA board

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    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • District Court judges appointed

    Attorney-General Hon Judith Collins today announced the appointment of two new District Court judges. The appointees, who will take up their roles at the Manukau Court and the Auckland Court in the Accident Compensation Appeal Jurisdiction, are: Jacqui Clark Judge Clark was admitted to the bar in 1988 after graduating ...
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    6 days ago
  • Government makes it faster and easier to invest in New Zealand

    Associate Minister of Finance David Seymour is encouraged by significant improvements to overseas investment decision timeframes, and the enhanced interest from investors as the Government continues to reform overseas investment. “There were about as many foreign direct investment applications in July and August as there was across the six months ...
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    6 days ago
  • New Zealand to join Operation Olympic Defender

    New Zealand has accepted an invitation to join US-led multi-national space initiative Operation Olympic Defender, Defence Minister Judith Collins announced today. Operation Olympic Defender is designed to coordinate the space capabilities of member nations, enhance the resilience of space-based systems, deter hostile actions in space and reduce the spread of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government commits to ‘stamping out’ foot and mouth disease

    Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard says that a new economic impact analysis report reinforces this government’s commitment to ‘stamp out’ any New Zealand foot and mouth disease incursion. “The new analysis, produced by the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research, shows an incursion of the disease in New Zealand would have ...
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  • Improving access to finance for Kiwis

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    1 week ago
  • Prime Minister pays tribute to Kiingi Tuheitia

    As Kiingi Tuheitia Pootatau Te Wherowhero VII is laid to rest today, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has paid tribute to a leader whose commitment to Kotahitanga will have a lasting impact on our country. “Kiingi Tuheitia was a humble leader who served his people with wisdom, mana and an unwavering ...
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    1 week ago
  • Resource Management reform to make forestry rules clearer

    Forestry Minister Todd McClay today announced proposals to reform the resource management system that will provide greater certainty for the forestry sector and help them meet environmental obligations.   “The Government has committed to restoring confidence and certainty across the sector by removing unworkable regulatory burden created by the previous ...
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    1 week ago
  • More choice and competition in building products

    A major shake-up of building products which will make it easier and more affordable to build is on the way, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “Today we have introduced legislation that will improve access to a wider variety of quality building products from overseas, giving Kiwis more choice and ...
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  • Joint Statement between the Republic of Korea and New Zealand 4 September 2024, Seoul

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    1 week ago
  • Comprehensive Strategic Partnership the goal for New Zealand and Korea

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    1 week ago
  • International tourism continuing to bounce back

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    1 week ago

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