The reverse Midas touch: exchange rates

Written By: - Date published: 9:10 am, April 23rd, 2012 - 57 comments
Categories: exports, Minister for Overseas Holidays - Tags:

John Key likes to trade on his experience as a, well, trader. You know, he’s the deal maker. The one to steer us through tough economic times, to get our exports growing. He understands the markets and that knowledge will benefit New Zealand. But, how well has he really done? Let’s start this series close to home for Key: the exchange rate.

So, exchange rates have risen 30% under Key. With half of Kiwi exporters saying that the exchange rate is hurting them, that’s not good news. You might have thought our currency trader PM would have done something about that. It’s not like there aren’t options.

57 comments on “The reverse Midas touch: exchange rates ”

  1. Bob 1

    Do you mean this bit from Labours site?

    ‘Monetary Policy. Labour has already announced that we need to change monetary policy to address the structural issues in the economy, including the volatility of the dollar that makes life difficult for exporters and high interest rates that discourage investment in productive parts of the economy. While curbing inflation remains important, having that as the single focus is not working for us. Our policy is to broaden the objectives of the Reserve Bank beyond just controlling inflation to look other issues, such as employment and to support more aggressive interventions to deal with currency speculation.’

    What is it that they would do?

    • McFlock 1.1

      I’d guess (ain’t in Labour) an FTT as a “more aggressive intervention”, also I take it a CGT would hit currency trades?
           
      But the use of interest rates would be the primary tool they’d be thinking of to tweak employment etc – every time they raise them to “slow down the economy and keep inflation in check” (okay, they haven’t had to do that in a few years) it kept unemployment up. By including unemployemnt in their target criteria, they’d find the balance between inflation and people having jobs.

    • mike e 1.2

      Not reveal all their policy well before the election because National and ConMankey would steal their policies as National have none.except smile and wave from pokifaced ConMankey.

  2. Enough is Enough 2

    Be careful what you wish for.

    The high dollar is protecting us to a degree from even higher oil prices.

    I will leave it to the economists to tell us what would happen to the pump price of 91 if our dollar lost 10% of its value.

    It would strangle this flatline recovery we are currenlty experiencing.

    • aj 2.1

      Yes there are pros and cons but the pro would be an incr in gdp? the con would be some inflation. It would not ‘strangle the recovery’ but it might strangle long distance commuters…

    • Lanthanide 2.2

      “The high dollar is protecting us to a degree from even higher oil prices.”

      Yep. We had a low dollar combined with high oil prices back in 2004, lots of news stories about people driving off the forecourt etc.

      Beyond the obvious that the oil price goes up in the US$ terms when the US$ sinks, I think there’s also a degree of insulation in the exchange rate. If the exchange rate were lower, that would increase petrol prices, forcing the exchange rate further lower as the economy struggled with the high prices, basically a negative spiral. But on the flip-side I think the reverse is happening: the high dollar is keeping petrol cheaper than it might be (and perhaps could be in other economies), helping businesses to be more competitive leading to a higher exchange rate.

      • Colonial Viper 2.2.1

        helping businesses to be more competitive leading to a higher exchange rate.

        The strength of the NZD has very little to do with the strength of our business sector.

        The vast majority of forex trading in NZD is not related to direct trade, it is related to market speculation.

        • Lanthanide 2.2.1.1

          I’d say it’s based on the interest rates the government and therefore banks are offering. Which in turn is based on the reserve bank setting interest rates based on the general business climate in NZ.

          If things hit the wall, the interest rate would go down, the banks would pay less and the exchange rate would drop.

          That is Labour’s whole point on this, after all, that the reserve bank should take into account the exchange rate when it sets interest rates. At the moment it only considers inflation.

          • ianmac 2.2.1.1.1

            Wasn’t this another issue that Winston has long advocated? That is to modify the Reserve Bank Policy beyond just concern around inflation.

    • Colonial Viper 2.3

      You can’t mask fossil fuel energy depletion for long. By letting the dollar appreciate (i.e. let our economy lose out in the currency wars occurring all around us) our economy does not get the price signals needed to drive a restructuring away from a dependence on personal cars on roads and trucking.

      It would strangle this flatline recovery we are currenlty experiencing.

      There’s not going to be a recovery. We’ve hit the downslope of energy availability/price chart. Economic growth per capita is now over for the developed western countries.

  3. Pete 3

    I’m not really prepared to blame the government for this one. The US, UK and the Eurozone have all engaged in several rounds of quantitative easing over the past half decade – dropping the value of their currencies for the exact same reason we want our currency to drop: to make exports more profitable and to stem cheap imports from China to encourage domestic industry.

    There was one instance in mid 2007 where the RBNZ spent $2.7 billion trying to stem the rise of the $NZ., clearly that was a failure. Given that our manufacturing industry is so small and so many of the things we need are bought from overseas, I’m not so sure that a currency intervention would be beneficial. Especially since commodity producers have been enjoying record prices lately.

    • bad12 3.1

      Governments tho would seem to have as their main responsibility the creation of economic conditions,(where possible),that provide the best framework for the New Zealand economy to operate within,

      Watching the Reserve Bank squander a couple of billion dollars attempting to change the international price of the New Zealand dollar was both tragic and comic,(up in smoke went enough monies to have paid for many years of extra Paid Parental Leave or decades of extending the Working for Families tax credit to the children of benefit dependent families,

      Using the present economic paradigm of neo-liberal right wing economics I can see there is no need for the use of either the useless squandering of monies or the heavy blunt instrument of Legislation to effect a downward trend in the international price of the New Zealand dollar,

      For instance,Government need only print into the economy a sufficient amount of capital to dilute the price of the NZ dollar in international markets,

      An excellent ‘end-use of such money production would be to simply build 20,000 State Houses over a contracted four year period,thus producing a standing asset that in turn justifies having ‘printed’ the money in the first place,

      In a flat-lining economy such as what New Zealand has had since 2008 there is little inflation,but even so,in terms of the neo-liberal ‘inflation target’ it is a simple matter of numeracy to know what X figure of new spending into the New Zealand economy will result in which Y of inflation as %,

      Given those known x and y’s makes the 3-4% annual inflation target an easy band to operate such a fiscal policy from within, while also diluting the international price of the New Zealand dollar by producing more of them in the economy,and at the same time building a much needed piece of social infrastructure…

      • Gosman 3.1.1

        I’m constantly amazed how popular Social credit policies are still in NZ when countries that have followed similar policies have tended to end up in a mess economically.

        • McFlock 3.1.1.1

          You’d also be amazed that countries that followed the opposite policies ended up in the shit, too.
             
          You must look like someone constantly tripping on mushrooms. 

          • Gosman 3.1.1.1.1

            You mean countries who practice restrained fiscal and monetary policies, allow their countries to be open to foreign trade and investment, and don’t pander to sectorial groups in policy settings do no better than countries who print money for supposed productive investment? I find that hard to believe. Care to show me some examples of this?

        • bad12 3.1.1.2

          Deep within the mind of the neo-liberal apologist of free market economics lives the ‘profit driven fruitcake’ surfacing occasionally to spit the odd piece of low level insipid abuse at anything that could threaten the constant fantasy of growth,profit,and,wealth,

          My example above,’print’ the money required to build ‘in particular’ State Houses while all the time spending that money as the State House build into the economy so as not to upset the neo-liberal constraint of 3-4% inflation over any financial year,in fact produces its own growth,profit,and,wealth,

          The value of the houses so built obviously equals the market value of their building,IE,the cost of producing a functional house and the functional suburb it would sit in from scratch is around $400,000,so in terms of current House prices the building of the suburb and the Houses therein equals in terms of dollars the current value and cost of production thus producing an item(s)of the same value as the money that was produced by printing in order to build that item(s)…

        • mike e 3.1.1.3

          goose name the countries

    • prism 3.2

      You miss the point completely Pete.

      Given that our manufacturing industry is so small and so many of the things we need are bought from overseas, I’m not so sure that a currency intervention would be beneficial. Especially since commodity producers have been enjoying record prices lately.

      The government has traded our productive economy away to get more dairy etc commodity business. We are far too over-committed in the dairying area, unhealthily unbalanced, and would be wiped out if there was some disease setback. Example the kiwifruit industry and golden kiwifruit fungus. It is important that we fight to retain and improve our productive economy to a healthier state. Our currency shouldn’t be a number on the world currency casino. It has a serious repressive effect on our health and wealth.

      • Pete 3.2.1

        I agree, much broader structural change is needed in our economy – to get us making stuff, adding value to our primary production and creating new intellectual property. But that goes far beyond any calls for the RBNZ to attempt to moderate the exchange rate.

        Edit: restoring the R&D tax credit would be a start. Maybe even providing low interest government loans to new, locally owned businesses.

        • Draco T Bastard 3.2.1.1

          Maybe even providing low interest government loans to new, locally owned businesses.

          Not low interest, zero interest. Available to all businesses and households to either a) replace existing debt or b) expand the business buy a new house. Watch as the NZ$ falls on the FX. Becomes to expensive to import? Not a problem, just means we have to make it here and that means investment into R&D and manufacturing.

          The only problem really is that, under current socio-economic circumstances, the capitalists would take all the benefits.

        • prism 3.2.1.2

          @Pete R&D encouragement yes, low interest government loans and small grants to new locally owned and strategic innovative businesses yes. Also encouragement to the public to invest in a Risk Innovation NZ National Fund. There would be a number of businesses and projects in different sectors in each offer. People are willing to take on risky investments with the possibility of good returns and some of their investment portfolio could be allocated to this area. Get people used to investing in real ground-breaking projects that didn’t involve trading in land!

          Better science funding without so much wasted time in applying for short term funding, yes. Moving out from under the land speculation, mining, primary industry shed, to more of the complex science and knowledge in that area, and in ground-breaking stuff we already know we can do, and have to make space and funds so we can do more, yes.

          Example of lack of essential scientific funding in NZ. – Bovine tuberculosis comes to mind here. I was amazed that we haven’t found out what indicators can be used to test a herd when tuberculosis is found. The animals on a farm recently had to be all slaughtered so they could be checked. Or that’s what I was told. A hell of a loss. That sort of scientific research would be so worthwhile when there was successful breakthrough.

          Also foot and mouth disease I understand, can be vaccinated against. The outbreaks of this disease are so devastating, and the loss of heritage animal strains in forced culling as in Britain was a sorry sight in the last big outbreak. The waste and disruption caused by fighting this disease should be matched by reasoned attempts to prevent it. We can organise a group looking into emissions from animals, why not precationary measures like this?

  4. prism 4

    When listening to specialist financial commentators on radio they seem unable to cope with anything that changes the regular pattern of rise and fall they are used to.

    To change anything would mean to add a variable that is new to them and will affect the investments they advise on or manipulate, perhaps detrimentally. Key is no different, he made his money within the system so would think “If it isn’t broke (for me and my mates) why try to fix it’?

    • Colonial Viper 4.1

      The orthodox neoliberal economic models they have all been using cannot deal with or explain a prolonged and severe economic downturn. This is why they are all struggling to say something cohesive. In their minds “market equilibrium” must return, probably sooner rather than later, and they are really confused as to why it has not yet.

      Blame has gone on a slow Christchurch rebuild, weaker dairy prices this year, etc. but they still do not see the bigger picture.

      • bad12 4.1.1

        Explaining the current ‘decline’ should be simple even for the ‘neo-liberals’,

        Such people only need to revisit the main tenet upon which the ‘ism’ sold itself to the world,

        ”The international free market played out upon the level playing field”

        Lets have a brief look at that foundation of the ‘ism’ and its fundamental ‘flaw’,it simply wasn’t,played upon a level playing field that is,

        The international ‘level’ playing field could only ever have been described as such if 2 factors of economy were to be a standardized constant,

        (1),All the economies involved would have had to have as a basic given a ”minimum wage” of equality,

        And (2),All economies involved would have to have as a basic an equality of the means of exchange,to stop being a wanker and putting it in words we all understand, for there to be any such thing as an ”international free market played out upon a level playing field” all the countries involved would have to have MONEY of an equal value between all those countries,

        Therein lies the current decline of all those economies supposedly involved in this supposed interantional free market…

        • Gosman 4.1.1.1

          Current decline? Much of the Western world has been treading water over the past few years or even slowly increasing their GDP. It is only countries where the Government spending was shown to be unsustainable that have suffered massive declines. On top of this is the fact that a huge number of countries are now increasing their wealth massively at the moment (mainly based on free market policies).

          • bad12 4.1.1.1.1

            Treading water,increasing their wealth ???really???is that what you call the ‘printing’ of US$ Trillions of dollars of bail-outs,

            The only thing that has occurred in the Western world economies under the ‘free market model’ is the ongoing over inflation of the illusion which has simply allowed the populace to retreat further into the delusion…

          • bad12 4.1.1.1.2

            PS,such ‘increases’ in wealth and GDP in all those Western economies have been accompanied by s corresponding increase in the numbers of people within those economies being judged to be living at or below the judged ‘poverty line’…

            • Gosman 4.1.1.1.2.1

              Which is normally set at a percentage of some sort of income level in the country they live. In my mind this is almost meaningless. The ‘average’ person in poverty in the Western world today would be regarded as having a level of wealth that even upper middle income people 200 years ago could only dream about.

              • Colonial Viper

                Yes Gosman, thanks for using pre industrial revolution times as the baseline.

                Doesn’t really change the fact that the top 1% have hoarded excesses of wealth and power, while others living just down the street and around the corner are going hungry and cold.

                • Gosman

                  You mean usinf the condition that the vast majority of the population of the planet lived in for the vast majority of the time until free market capitalist ideas allowed people to escape this condition? I make no apologies for using this as a baseline. However I will grant you that absolute poverty is an issue that should be tackled. This is as opposed to comparative levels of poverty whereby someone is poor simply because they earn a fraction of what a wealthy person does.

                  • bad12

                    No what we mean is that vast numbers of people lived in poverty even while working for the Capitalist Masters sometimes for hours far above the standard 40 and at ages as young as 9 until such time as unions of workers formed in an effort to banish such practice to the dark ages where they belonged…

                  • McFlock

                    […] until free market capitalist ideas allowed people to escape this condition? 
                        
                    Your faith in capitalism has gone into cult status, like the soviets in the 1940s who were taught that comrade Stalin invented penicillin, designed the Moscow Underground network, single-handedly developed the T34 tank, and had a 15-inch penis.
                       
                    Maybe you should pick up a history book. 

                  • Colonial Viper

                    This is as opposed to comparative levels of poverty whereby someone is poor simply because they earn a fraction of what a wealthy person does.

                    Fuck that

                    The problem of this economy is not just the unemployed, but that of the working poor. You work a full time job but there is no way that you can raise a family on it.

                    While say, Talley’s, rip away the economic value added that your labour provides, to put into their own already overflowing pockets.

                    91% income tax on income over 20x the median wage would be a good start.

              • joe90

                Yeah, and flushing shitters would be regarded as having a level of wealth hygiene that even upper middle income people 200 years ago could only dream about.

                http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/04/the-100-year-march-of-technology-in-1-graph/255573/

              • bad12

                Meaningless???the basic level of ‘dole’ payment including accommodation subsidy in New Zealand in no way meets the monetary requirement of any individual to house,feed,and, clothe that individual,

                Comparison with the unemployed person of 200 years ago is to deny both human and societal evolution,as pointless as a comparison of poverty in developed and under-developed economies,

                To use either,the anecdotal 200 years ago or the poverty of the under-developed as a comparison with the socially evolved modern Western economy is the ultimate escapism of those who cannot face the responsibility that in the creation of what they see as ‘wealth’ they are creating a corresponding number of impoverished individuals…

                • felix

                  “Meaningless” to Gosman means “does not immediately impact on my own personal comfort”.

                • Gosman

                  No, it is the definitished of impoverished that is at issue here. Compared to Bill Gates I’m seriously impoverished. However I’m much better than say someone living in an African Squatter shanty town.

                  • felix

                    Your last sentence is very revealing.

                  • bad12

                    I am not interested in comparisons with Bill Gates,just as we are not interested in a comparison with a tribal member currently residing in a South African shanty town,

                    The measurement of poverty in New Zealand is best deduced from within the equation of does the payment to an adult which is the least amount of income possible for that individual,(the dole),in any way match the basic needs of every day life for that individual,IE,rent,food,and,clothing,

                    They don’t!!!affordability of survivability for those receiving that minium of income,(the dole), for any period of length past a month is reliant upon either further subsidization from the State and/or further subsidization of the individual by family or private charity,

                    Marketization of labour simply leads to those able to be employed but less likely to be employed,(for what-ever reason),to remain for longer periods receiving that least amount of income in which case such impoverishment becomes entrenched…

                    • Gosman

                      The dole is not meant to be a long term living wage. It is meant to enable someone to tide themselves over for a short to medium period of time.

                    • felix

                      It is meant to enable 150,000 people to tide themselves over for as long as it takes for the jobs to arrive.

                      FIFY

                    • bad12

                      So you again fail deliberately to have any understanding of ‘labour as a market’,such a failure on your part is a simple pointer to why the neo-liberal economic ISM is in fact doomed to indulge in what Trotsky once described as an ongoing series of failures each of an increasingly severe nature,

                      In a labour market those with the most marketable skills at any given time,(and at any given time is the imperative within this narrative),will always be employed first,

                      There are those tho,who by age,looks,skills set,or in fact WHATEVER will always be shuffled to the back of the queue of employment, depending upon who is in control of the neo-liberal ISM at any given time ie,with the imperative to either reduce inflation to protect their ‘wealth’ or their ‘amount of interest paid on the mortgage the number of those in this ”unlikely to be employed” category as a percentage fluctuates between 10 and 20% of those unemployed,

                      Any given time???,Ok take the boner at the meat-works who having sold His/her labour for 20 years to the company is now made redundant through the dairy conversions having reduced stock numbers to a level where His/Her employment is now no longer needed,

                      At 50 years of age our meat-works boner is now to all extents and purposes of no ‘use’ to the labour market BUT is still a number,(25% of)on the roll of the unemployment benefit….

                    • bad12

                      ‘The Dole’,or to be more precise the number of those collecting the dole is simply the measurement of the success or failure of ANY Governments economic policy,

                      If we were to pay the minimum wage to all those who currently receive the dole we would in effect destroy the incentive for the numbers on the dole being used to protect the ‘wealth’ of the ‘Haves’ off of the backs of the ‘Have Not’s’,

                      Tax the profits of capitalism to pay the minimum wage to the unemployed and such a rising tax at times of rising unemployment would simply incentivize the capitalists to keep the number of unemployed to a bare minimum…

          • mike e 4.1.1.1.3

            GOOSEMAN care to name these countries
            China totalitarian Dictatorship
            Singapore likewise
            Germany taxing and spending Europe out of recession
            Goose your a pathological LIAR
            You have never been able to name a country not one since I,ve been reading your pathetic propaganda

            • Matt 4.1.1.1.3.1

              “Goose your a pathological LIAR”

              Come on, that’s unwarranted. He’d first have to know something in order to misrepresent it.

      • prism 4.1.2

        CV I thought that market equilibrium was a theoretical feature used in modelling and unlikely to be ever achieved unless there was a recession and stasis?

    • bad12 4.2

      Unfortunately you are correct, those who stand to ‘gain’ the most from within the present money system will be the most loath to make even neccessary changes to that money system,

      Such a money system is basically corrupted as money is at its most basic simply the means by which we exchange our labour between each other to allow our daily living,

      Where this corruption has occurred is in allowing money as a mass to be in effect hoarded as what is termed wealth,

      As there is only X amount of production that can occur in any economy at any given time based upon the amount of money in that economy allowing individuals to ‘hoard’ masses of this money as ‘wealth’ simply reduces the ability of those without the means to ‘hoard’ such masses of money in their efforts to exchange their labour as the means of obtaining their daily living,

      Allowing such ongoing hoarding of masses of money over longer periods simply means that an economy will always be struggling to avoid decline as the amounts hoarded will not produce an equal amount of ‘production’ requiring the exchange of labour as those amounts would had they remained in the economy as their basic means of exchanging labour for daily living,

      PS,the abbreviation of all of the above is that old adage,”Money is made round to go round”, with the added codicil that stopping any of it going round is done at ones economic peril…

  5. Gosman 5

    ‘With half of Kiwi exporters saying that the exchange rate is hurting them, that’s not good news.You might have thought our currency trader PM would have done something about that.’

    NZ exporters might have a problem but NZ importers (and by extension many NZ consumers) are probably quite pleased.

    If anything the PM experience would have realised the futility of trying to manage FX rates.

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/16/newsid_2519000/2519013.stm

    • Colonial Viper 5.2

      NZ exporters might have a problem but NZ importers (and by extension many NZ consumers) are probably quite pleased.

      Yeah too bad both those groups of people dangerously worsen our balance of payments and trade deficit figures.

      Essentially our exchange rate is hurting productive, innovative NZers trying to do real work in NZ – design and make things for sale overseas.

      Seems like you are OK with that as long as you can get a cheaper overseas holiday out of it.

    • mike e 5.3

      Goose lying again The US China UK Europe have had no problem devaluing their currency john no balls keywe has the problem, like everything else he can do to grow the economy he,s done nothing nothing except cut funding especially on R&D which is criminal in my opinion

  6. DH 6

    The easiest way to get the $NZD down is to address the demand for it. Stop foreign buyups of NZ land & buildings and the $NZD would fall by itself, the current account deficit is largely due to foreign investors buying the $NZ to invest here. Also cut the offshore borrowing by the big banks which puts more pressure on the $NZD

    Higher fuel cost isn’t a valid argument for keeping the dollar high, Govt can manage that via excise reductions. They’d get the cash back through economic growth.

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    3 days ago
  • Willis fails a taxing app-titude test but govt supporters will cheer moves on Te Pukenga and the Hum...
    Buzz from the Beehive The Minister of Defence has returned from Noumea to announce New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting and (wearing another ministerial hat) to condemn malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government. A bigger cheer from people who voted for the Luxon ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • ELIZABETH RATA: In defence of the liberal university and against indigenisation
    The suppression of individual thought in our universities spills over into society, threatening free speech everywhere. Elizabeth Rata writes –  Indigenising New Zealand’s universities is well underway, presumably with the agreement of University Councils and despite the absence of public discussion. Indigenising, under the broader umbrella of decolonisation, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the skewed media coverage of Gaza
    Now that he’s back as Foreign Minister, maybe Winston Peters should start reading the MFAT website. If he did, Peters would find MFAT celebrating the 25th anniversary of how New Zealand alerted the rest of the world to the genocide developing in Rwanda. Quote: New Zealand played an important role ...
    3 days ago
  • “Your Circus, Your Clowns.”
    It must have been a hard first couple of weeks for National voters, since the coalition was announced. Seeing their party make so many concessions to New Zealand First and ACT that there seems little remains of their own policies, other than the dwindling dream of tax cuts and the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 8-December-2023
    It’s Friday again and Christmas is fast approaching. Here’s some of the stories that caught our attention. This week in Greater Auckland On Tuesday Matt covered some of the recent talk around the costs, benefits and challenges with the City Rail Link. On Thursday Matt looked at how ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    3 days ago
  • End-of-week escapism
    Amsterdam to Hong Kong William McCartney16,000 kilometres41 days18 trains13 countries11 currencies6 long-distance taxis4 taxi apps4 buses3 sim cards2 ferries1 tram0 medical events (surprisingly)Episode 4Whether the Sofia-Istanbul Express really qualifies to be called an express is debatable, but it’s another one of those likeably old and slow trains tha… ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to Dec 8
    Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro arrives for the State Opening of Parliament (Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)TL;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:New Finance Minister Nicola Willis set herself a ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • New Zealand’s Witchcraft Laws: 1840/1858-1961/1962
    Sometimes one gets morbidly curious about the oddities of one’s own legal system. Sometimes one writes entire essays on New Zealand’s experience with Blasphemous Libel: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2017/05/09/blasphemous-libel-new-zealand-politics/ And sometimes one follows up the exact historical status of witchcraft law in New Zealand. As one does, of course. ...
    4 days ago
  • No surprises
    Don’t expect any fiscal shocks or surprises when the books are opened on December 20 with the unveiling of the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU). That was the message yesterday from Westpac in an economic commentary. But the bank’s analysis did not include any changes to capital ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #49 2023
    113 articles in 48 journals by 674 contributing authors Physical science of climate change, effects Diversity of Lagged Relationships in Global Means of Surface Temperatures and Radiative Budgets for CMIP6 piControl Simulations, Tsuchida et al., Journal of Climate 10.1175/jcli-d-23-0045.1 Do abrupt cryosphere events in High Mountain Asia indicate earlier tipping ...
    4 days ago
  • Phone calls at Kia Kaha primary
    It is quiet reading time in Room 13! It is so quiet you can hear the Tui outside. It is so quiet you can hear the Fulton Hogan crew.It is so quiet you can hear old Mr Grant and old Mr Bradbury standing by the roadworks and counting the conesand going on ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • A question of confidence is raised by the Minister of Police, but he had to be questioned by RNZ to ...
    It looks like the new ministerial press secretaries have quickly learned the art of camouflaging exactly what their ministers are saying – or, at least, of keeping the hard news  out of the headlines and/or the opening sentences of the statements they post on the home page of the governments ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • Xmas  good  cheer  for the dairy industry  as Fonterra lifts its forecast
    The big dairy co-op Fonterra  had  some Christmas  cheer to offer  its farmers this week, increasing its forecast farmgate milk price and earnings guidance for  the year after what it calls a strong start to the year. The forecast  midpoint for the 2023/24 season is up 25cs to $7.50 per ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • MICHAEL BASSETT: Modern Maori myths
    Michael Bassett writes – Many of the comments about the Coalition’s determination to wind back the dramatic Maorification of New Zealand of the last three years would have you believe the new government is engaged in a full-scale attack on Maori. In reality, all that is happening ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • Dreams of eternal sunshine at a spotless COP28
    Mary Robinson asked Al Jaber a series of very simple, direct and highly pertinent questions and he responded with a high-octane public meltdown. Photos: Getty Images / montage: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR The hygiene effects of direct sunshine are making some inroads, perhaps for the very first time, on the normalised ‘deficit ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • LINDSAY MITCHELL: Oh, the irony
    Lindsay Mitchell writes – Appointed by new Labour PM Jacinda Ardern in 2018, Cindy Kiro headed the Welfare Expert Advisory Group (WEAG) tasked with reviewing and recommending reforms to the welfare system. Kiro had been Children’s Commissioner during Helen Clark’s Labour government but returned to academia subsequently. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Transport Agencies don’t want Harbour Tunnels
    It seems even our transport agencies don’t want Labour’s harbour crossing plans. In August the previous government and Waka Kotahi announced their absurd preferred option the new harbour crossing that at the time was estimated to cost $35-45 billion. It included both road tunnels and a wiggly light rail tunnel ...
    4 days ago
  • Webworm Presents: Jurassic Park on 35mm
    Hi,Paying Webworm members such as yourself keep this thing running, so as 2023 draws to close, I wanted to do two things to say a giant, loud “THANKS”. Firstly — I’m giving away 10 Mister Organ blu-rays in New Zealand, and another 10 in America. More details down below.Secondly — ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago
  • The Prime Minister's Dream.
    Yesterday saw the State Opening of Parliament, the Speech from the Throne, and then Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s dream for Aotearoa in his first address. But first the pomp and ceremony, the arrival of the Governor General.Dame Cindy Kiro arrived on the forecourt outside of parliament to a Māori welcome. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • National’s new MP; the proud part-Maori boy raised in a state house
    Probably not since 1975 have we seen a government take office up against such a wall of protest and complaint. That was highlighted yesterday, the day that the new Parliament was sworn in, with news that King Tuheitia has called a national hui for late January to develop a ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • Climate Adam: Battlefield Earth – How War Fuels Climate Catastrophe
    This video includes conclusions of the creator climate scientist Dr. Adam Levy. It is presented to our readers as an informed perspective. Please see video description for references (if any). War, conflict and climate change are tearing apart lives across the world. But these aren't separate harms - they're intricately connected. ...
    5 days ago
  • They do not speak for us, and they do not speak for the future
    These dire woeful and intolerant people have been so determinedly going about their small and petulant business, it’s hard to keep up. At the end of the new government’s first woeful week, Audrey Young took the time to count off its various acts of denigration of Te Ao Māori:Review the ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago
  • Another attack on te reo
    The new white supremacist government made attacking te reo a key part of its platform, promising to rename government agencies and force them to "communicate primarily in English" (which they already do). But today they've gone further, by trying to cut the pay of public servants who speak te reo: ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • For the record, the Beehive buzz can now be regarded as “official”
    Buzz from the Beehive The biggest buzz we bring you from the Beehive today is that the government’s official website is up and going after being out of action for more than a week. The latest press statement came  from  Education Minister  Eric Stanford, who seized on the 2022 PISA ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • Climate Change: Failed again
    There was another ETS auction this morning. and like all the other ones this year, it failed to clear - meaning that 23 million tons of carbon (15 million ordinary units plus 8 million in the cost containment reserve) went up in smoke. Or rather, they didn't. Being unsold at ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell On The Government’s Assault On Maori
    This isn’t news, but the National-led coalition is mounting a sustained assault on Treaty rights and obligations. Even so, Christopher Luxon has described yesterday’s nationwide protests by Maori as “pretty unfair.” Poor thing. In the NZ Herald, Audrey Young has compiled a useful list of the many, many ways that ...
    5 days ago
  • Rising costs hit farmers hard, but  there’s more  positive news  for  them this  week 
    New Zealand’s dairy industry, the mainstay of the country’s export trade, has  been under  pressure  from rising  costs. Down on the  farm, this  has  been  hitting  hard. But there  was more positive news this week,  first   from the latest Fonterra GDT auction where  prices  rose,  and  then from  a  report ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    5 days ago
  • ROB MacCULLOCH:  Newshub and NZ Herald report misleading garbage about ACT’s van Veldon not follo...
    Rob MacCulloch writes –  In their rush to discredit the new government (which our MainStream Media regard as illegitimate and having no right to enact the democratic will of voters) the NZ Herald and Newshub are arguing ACT’s Deputy Leader Brooke van Veldon is not following Treasury advice ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Top 10 for Wednesday, December 6
    Even many young people who smoke support smokefree policies, fitting in with previous research showing the large majority of people who smoke regret starting and most want to quit. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Wednesday, December ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Eleven years of work.
    Well it didn’t take six months, but the leaks have begun. Yes the good ship Coalition has inadvertently released a confidential cabinet paper into the public domain, discussing their axing of Fair Pay Agreements (FPAs).Oops.Just when you were admiring how smoothly things were going for the new government, they’ve had ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Why we're missing out on sharply lower inflation
    A wave of new and higher fees, rates and charges will ripple out over the economy in the next 18 months as mayors, councillors, heads of department and price-setters for utilities such as gas, electricity, water and parking ramp up charges. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Just when most ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • How Did We Get Here?
    Hi,Kiwis — keep the evening of December 22nd free. I have a meetup planned, and will send out an invite over the next day or so. This sounds sort of crazy to write, but today will be Tony Stamp’s final Totally Normal column of 2023. Somehow we’ve made it to ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    5 days ago
  • At a glance – Has the greenhouse effect been falsified?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    6 days ago
  • New Zealaders  have  high expectations of  new  government:  now let’s see if it can deliver?
    The electorate has high expectations of the  new  government.  The question is: can  it  deliver?    Some  might  say  the  signs are not  promising. Protestors   are  already marching in the streets. The  new  Prime Minister has had  little experience of managing  very diverse politicians  in coalition. The economy he  ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    6 days ago
  • You won't believe some of the numbers you have to pull when you're a Finance Minister
    Nicola of Marsden:Yo, normies! We will fix your cost of living worries by giving you a tax cut of 150 dollars. 150! Cash money! Vote National.Various people who can read and count:Actually that's 150 over a fortnight. Not a week, which is how you usually express these things.And actually, it looks ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    6 days ago
  • Pushback
    When this government came to power, it did so on an explicitly white supremacist platform. Undermining the Waitangi Tribunal, removing Māori representation in local government, over-riding the courts which had tried to make their foreshore and seabed legislation work, eradicating te reo from public life, and ultimately trying to repudiate ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    6 days ago
  • Defence ministerial meeting meant Collins missed the Maori Party’s mischief-making capers in Parli...
    Buzz from the Beehive Maybe this is not the best time for our Minister of Defence to have gone overseas. Not when the Maori Party is inviting (or should that be inciting?) its followers to join a revolution in a post which promoted its protest plans with a picture of ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Threats of war have been followed by an invitation to join the revolution – now let’s see how th...
     A Maori Party post on Instagram invited party followers to ….  Tangata Whenua, Tangata Tiriti, Join the REVOLUTION! & make a stand!  Nationwide Action Day, All details in tiles swipe to see locations.  • This is our 1st hit out and tomorrow Tuesday the 5th is the opening ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Top 10 for Tuesday, December 4
    The RBNZ governor is citing high net migration and profit-led inflation as factors in the bank’s hawkish stance. Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere on the morning of Tuesday, December 5, including:Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr says high net migration and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Nicola Willis' 'show me the money' moment
    Willis has accused labour of “economic vandalism’, while Robertson described her comments as a “desperate diversion from somebody who can't make their tax package add up”. There will now be an intense focus on December 20 to see whether her hyperbole is backed up by true surprises. Photo montage: Lynn ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • CRL costs money but also provides huge benefits
    The City Rail Link has been in the headlines a bit recently so I thought I’d look at some of them. First up, yesterday the NZ Herald ran this piece about the ongoing costs of the CRL. Auckland ratepayers will be saddled with an estimated bill of $220 million each ...
    6 days ago
  • And I don't want the world to see us.
    Is this the most shambolic government in the history of New Zealand? Given that parliament hasn’t even opened they’ve managed quite a list of achievements to date.The Smokefree debacle trading lives for tax cuts, the Trumpian claims of bribery in the Media, an International award for indifference, and today the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Cooking the books
    Finance Minister Nicola Willis late yesterday stopped only slightly short of accusing her predecessor Grant Robertson of cooking the books. She complained that the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU), due to be made public on December 20, would show “fiscal cliffs” that would amount to “billions of ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    6 days ago
  • Most people don’t realize how much progress we’ve made on climate change
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections The year was 2015. ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars was at the top of the music charts. Jurassic World was the most popular new movie in theaters. And decades of futility in international climate negotiations was about to come to an end in ...
    7 days ago
  • Of Parliamentary Oaths and Clive Boonham
    As a heads-up, I am not one of those people who stay awake at night thinking about weird Culture War nonsense. At least so far as the current Maori/Constitutional arrangements go. In fact, I actually consider it the least important issue facing the day to day lives of New ...
    7 days ago
  • Bearing True Allegiance?
    Strong Words: “We do not consent, we do not surrender, we do not cede, we do not submit; we, the indigenous, are rising. We do not buy into the colonial fictions this House is built upon. Te Pāti Māori pledges allegiance to our mokopuna, our whenua, and Te Tiriti o ...
    7 days ago
  • You cannot be serious
    Some days it feels like the only thing to say is: Seriously? No, really. Seriously?OneSomeone has used their health department access to share data about vaccinations and patients, and inform the world that New Zealanders have been dying in their hundreds of thousands from the evil vaccine. This of course is pure ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago
  • A promise kept: govt pulls the plug on Lake Onslow scheme – but this saving of $16bn is denounced...
    Buzz from the Beehive After $21.8 million was spent on investigations, the plug has been pulled on the Lake Onslow pumped-hydro electricity scheme, The scheme –  that technically could have solved New Zealand’s looming energy shortage, according to its champions – was a key part of the defeated Labour government’s ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER: The Maori Party and Oath of Allegiance
    If those elected to the Māori Seats refuse to take them, then what possible reason could the country have for retaining them?   Chris Trotter writes – Christmas is fast approaching, which, as it does every year, means gearing up for an abstruse general knowledge question. “Who was ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago
  • BRIAN EASTON:  Forward to 2017
    The coalition party agreements are mainly about returning to 2017 when National lost power. They show commonalities but also some serious divergencies. Brian Easton writes The two coalition agreements – one National and ACT, the other National and New Zealand First – are more than policy documents. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 week ago
  • Climate Change: Fossils
    When the new government promised to allow new offshore oil and gas exploration, they were warned that there would be international criticism and reputational damage. Naturally, they arrogantly denied any possibility that that would happen. And then they finally turned up at COP, to criticism from Palau, and a "fossil ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    1 week ago
  • GEOFFREY MILLER:  NZ’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    Geoffrey Miller writes – New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 week ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the government’s smokefree laws debacle
    The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out – for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable ...
    1 week ago
  • Top 10 links at 10 am for Monday, December 4
    As Deb Te Kawa writes in an op-ed, the new Government seems to have immediately bought itself fights with just about everyone. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Here’s my pick of the top 10 news and analysis links elsewhere as of 10 am on Monday December 4, including:Palau’s President ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • Be Honest.
    Let’s begin today by thinking about job interviews.During my career in Software Development I must have interviewed hundreds of people, hired at least a hundred, but few stick in the memory.I remember one guy who was so laid back he was practically horizontal, leaning back in his chair until his ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: New Zealand’s foreign policy resets on AUKUS, Gaza and Ukraine
    New Zealand’s international relations are under new management. And Winston Peters, the new foreign minister, is already setting a change agenda. As expected, this includes a more pro-US positioning when it comes to the Pacific – where Peters will be picking up where he left off. Peters sought to align ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    1 week ago
  • Auckland rail tunnel the world’s most expensive
    Auckland’s city rail link is the most expensive rail project in the world per km, and the CRL boss has described the cost of infrastructure construction in Aotearoa as a crisis. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The 3.5 km City Rail Link (CRL) tunnel under Auckland’s CBD has cost ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 week ago
  • First big test coming
    The first big test of the new Government’s approach to Treaty matters is likely to be seen in the return of the Resource Management Act. RMA Minister Chris Bishop has confirmed that he intends to introduce legislation to repeal Labour’s recently passed Natural and Built Environments Act and its ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 week ago

  • COP28 National Statement for New Zealand
    Tēnā koutou katoa Mr President, Excellencies, Delegates. An island nation at the bottom of the Pacific, New Zealand is unique.          Our geography, our mountains, lakes, winds and rainfall helps set us up for the future, allowing for nearly 90 per cent of our electricity to come from renewable sources. I’m ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Ministers visit Hawke’s Bay to grasp recovery needs
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon joined Cyclone Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell and Transport and Local Government Minister Simeon Brown, to meet leaders of cyclone and flood-affected regions in the Hawke’s Bay. The visit reinforced the coalition Government’s commitment to support the region and better understand its ongoing requirements, Mr Mitchell says.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • New Zealand condemns malicious cyber activity
    New Zealand has joined the UK and other partners in condemning malicious cyber activity conducted by the Russian Government, Minister Responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau Judith Collins says. The statement follows the UK’s attribution today of malicious cyber activity impacting its domestic democratic institutions and processes, as well ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Disestablishment of Te Pūkenga begins
    The Government has begun the process of disestablishing Te Pūkenga as part of its 100-day plan, Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills Penny Simmonds says.  “I have started putting that plan into action and have met with the chair and chief Executive of Te Pūkenga to advise them of my ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Climate Change Minister to attend COP28 in Dubai
    Climate Change Minister Simon Watts will be leaving for Dubai today to attend COP28, the 28th annual UN climate summit, this week. Simon Watts says he will push for accelerated action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, deliver New Zealand’s national statement and connect with partner countries, private sector leaders ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • New Zealand to host 2024 Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins yesterday announced New Zealand will host next year’s South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting (SPDMM). “Having just returned from this year’s meeting in Nouméa, I witnessed first-hand the value of meeting with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security and defence matters. I welcome the opportunity to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Study shows need to remove distractions in class
    The Government is committed to lifting school achievement in the basics and that starts with removing distractions so young people can focus on their learning, Education Minister Erica Stanford says.   The 2022 PISA results released this week found that Kiwi kids ranked 5th in the world for being distracted ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister sets expectations of Commissioner
    Today I met with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to set out my expectations, which he has agreed to, says Police Minister Mark Mitchell. Under section 16(1) of the Policing Act 2008, the Minister can expect the Police Commissioner to deliver on the Government’s direction and priorities, as now outlined in ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • New Zealand needs a strong and stable ETS
    New Zealand needs a strong and stable Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that is well placed for the future, after emission units failed to sell for the fourth and final auction of the year, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says.  At today’s auction, 15 million New Zealand units (NZUs) – each ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • PISA results show urgent need to teach the basics
    With 2022 PISA results showing a decline in achievement, Education Minister Erica Stanford is confident that the Coalition Government’s 100-day plan for education will improve outcomes for Kiwi kids.  The 2022 PISA results show a significant decline in the performance of 15-year-old students in maths compared to 2018 and confirms ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Collins leaves for Pacific defence meeting
    Defence Minister Judith Collins today departed for New Caledonia to attend the 8th annual South Pacific Defence Ministers’ meeting (SPDMM). “This meeting is an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with my Pacific counterparts to discuss regional security matters and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the Pacific,” Judith Collins says. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Working for Families gets cost of living boost
    Putting more money in the pockets of hard-working families is a priority of this Coalition Government, starting with an increase to Working for Families, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says. “We are starting our 100-day plan with a laser focus on bringing down the cost of living, because that is what ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Post-Cabinet press conference
    Most weeks, following Cabinet, the Prime Minister holds a press conference for members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery. This page contains the transcripts from those press conferences, which are supplied by Hansard to the Office of the Prime Minister. It is important to note that the transcripts have not been edited ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme scrapped
    The Government has axed the $16 billion Lake Onslow pumped hydro scheme championed by the previous government, Energy Minister Simeon Brown says. “This hugely wasteful project was pouring money down the drain at a time when we need to be reining in spending and focussing on rebuilding the economy and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • NZ welcomes further pause in fighting in Gaza
    New Zealand welcomes the further one-day extension of the pause in fighting, which will allow the delivery of more urgently-needed humanitarian aid into Gaza and the release of more hostages, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said. “The human cost of the conflict is horrific, and New Zealand wants to see the violence ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Condolences on passing of Henry Kissinger
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters today expressed on behalf of the New Zealand Government his condolences to the family of former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who has passed away at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut. “While opinions on his legacy are varied, Secretary Kissinger was ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Backing our kids to learn the basics
    Every child deserves a world-leading education, and the Coalition Government is making that a priority as part of its 100-day plan. Education Minister Erica Stanford says that will start with banning cellphone use at school and ensuring all primary students spend one hour on reading, writing, and maths each day. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • US Business Summit Speech – Regional stability through trade
    I would like to begin by echoing the Prime Minister’s thanks to the organisers of this Summit, Fran O’Sullivan and the Auckland Business Chamber.  I want to also acknowledge the many leading exporters, sector representatives, diplomats, and other leaders we have joining us in the room. In particular, I would like ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Keynote Address to the United States Business Summit, Auckland
    Good morning. Thank you, Rosemary, for your warm introduction, and to Fran and Simon for this opportunity to make some brief comments about New Zealand’s relationship with the United States.  This is also a chance to acknowledge my colleague, Minister for Trade Todd McClay, Ambassador Tom Udall, Secretary of Foreign ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • India New Zealand Business Council Speech, India as a Strategic Priority
    Good morning, tēnā koutou and namaskar. Many thanks, Michael, for your warm welcome. I would like to acknowledge the work of the India New Zealand Business Council in facilitating today’s event and for the Council’s broader work in supporting a coordinated approach for lifting New Zealand-India relations. I want to also ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
  • Coalition Government unveils 100-day plan
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has laid out the Coalition Government’s plan for its first 100 days from today. “The last few years have been incredibly tough for so many New Zealanders. People have put their trust in National, ACT and NZ First to steer them towards a better, more prosperous ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago
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