The SIS is worried about foreign interference – so what’s NATO doing in our back yard?

Written By: - Date published: 9:28 pm, March 31st, 2021 - 26 comments
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The SIS can’t help itself – it keeps getting involved in our politics, but stays resolutely one-eyed. As Sam Sachdeva of Newsroom reports, it has just released advice for politicians on how to avoid political interference. Maintaining ‘transparent’ secrecy, it uses its favourite journalists and academics to drop the necessary hints – look over here.

The SIS document “Espionage and Foreign Interference Threats: Security advice for members of the New Zealand Parliament and Locally Elected Representatives” warns

Foreign state actors work under many guises. While foreign intelligence services usually lead and carry out espionage and foreign interference, they may also use a range of other actors to help them. These other actors include diplomats, academics, military personnel, media organisations, community organisations, business people, online actors, proxies.

We’ve known that for years. It’s what diplomats do, and it’s also no secret that foreign embassies include intelligence agents, and one of their jobs is to cultivate relationships, particularly with journalists and increasingly also with academics. It’s also what the SIS and the GCSB do.

The question is, exactly who are the foreigners whose influence we as citizens need to be careful about, and to what extent are our interests and security addressed by the intelligence agencies. In their review of the intelligence agencies occasioned in part by the GCSB’s illegal surveillance of Kim DotCom, Sir Michael Cullen and Dame Patsy Reddy had this to say at 4.28:

We consider it is in New Zealand’s national interest to maintain its collaboration with the Five Eyes partnership for as long as it continues to result in a net benefit for us. However, there are risks and costs associated with this close relationship. Continuation of our involvement depends in part on how much we contribute to research,development and intelligence collection. Close co-operation on operational matters also creates a risk of some loss of independence, both operationally and potentially also in relation to our intelligence, defence and foreign policy settings. The Agencies must keep at the forefront of their minds New Zealand’s national interests, which do not and cannot exactly coincide with those of any other country, no matter how friendly or close. The Agencies should continue to collaborate with foreign partners only to the extent compatible with New Zealand’s laws and national interests.

Speaking in Radio New Zealand’s series ‘The Service’, which detailed some activities of the SIS, Helen Clark said:

Helen Clark said she believed the Five Eyes alliance was a net benefit for New Zealand, but it was vital that the country maintained its independence within the network. “I think you’re as independent as you want to be. I consider we were independent in my time. I sense there’s been a bit of slippage since then, frankly.”

Clark said “sources in officialdom” had told her New Zealand had “got a lot closer back in” and that could threaten the country’s independent foreign policy, which went right back to the nuclear-free stance of the mid-1980s.

In my opinion, the maintenance of peace and the prevention of nuclear war is at the very top of New Zealand’s national interests. Also in my opinion, the greatest threat to that peace and the greatest risk of nuclear war lies with the confrontational activities of the United States and the confrontational ambitions of NATO in our Asia-Pacific region.

Sachdeva’s article goes on to cite two other documents warning against interference in Universities. He cites Professor Anne-Marie Brady, indefatigable China critic, referring to a previous story about her warning against technology exports. More on that in another post. Brady says:

University of Canterbury academic and China expert Anne-Marie Brady, who has written about the People’s Liberation Army using academic collaborations as a “foothold” to strengthen its militarisation programme, told Newsroom it was good to see the Government doing more to educate the public about foreign interference.

“The documents contain very detailed information about what foreign interference is, and how to prevent it, and highlights how our politicians and academics are being targeted by foreign governments.”

The irony is that the research project Small States and the New Security Environment (SSANSE) that Professor Brady heads at Canterbury University  is a project funded by NATO. The NATO funding agency, Science for Peace and Security,  states as follows:

The SPS Programme offers funding, expert advice and support to tailor-made, security-relevant activities that respond to NATO’s strategic objectives.

NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, is a military alliance formed between the United States and European countries after the Second World War. It has expanded to the border of the Russian Federation, and is currently conducting large military exercises in the Ukraine and the Baltic States. There it sits on a powder keg and is a threat to peace. It has also just sent more troops to Afghanistan at a time when the US has promised to leave by May 1 but now says it might not, which undoubtedly means more mayhem. It now wants to expand into the US-defined ‘Indo-Pacific.’ It is a foreign agency.

It has just held a two-day summit attended by US Secretary of State Blinken. In an interview with Deutsche Welle, NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg described the adoption of a a confrontational policy towards China as a threat and “an opportunity.” Finian Cunningham writing in the Strategic-Culture Foundation had this to say:

In an unguarded moment, NATO’s secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg let the cat out of the bag when he described the rise of China as both a challenge and “an opportunity”. What he was admitting unintentionally is that a confrontational policy toward China gives the military alliance some badly needed new purpose.

Anne-Marie Brady would certainly be carrying out NATO policy by carrying on her confrontational policy towards China. NATO will feel they are getting their money’s worth for her compliance with their strategic objectives.

In my opinion a confrontational policy towards China is not in New Zealand’s economic interest. Given the tensions in the region, it is also not in New Zealand’s security interest. Stirring up anti-country feeling is historically a preparation for war, as we know from the experience of Iraq, and previous disasters.

I hope the SIS is taking note, and warning Canterbury University about the foreign interference in their midst.


 

 

26 comments on “The SIS is worried about foreign interference – so what’s NATO doing in our back yard? ”

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  1. Anne 1
    31 March 2021 at 10:49 pm

    I've been hearing good things about Nanaia Mahuta Mike Smith. She's a clued up lady from all accounts and she does not seem to be falling for the negative propaganda which abounds around China – although there is truth to some of them. Our trade alliances with China will continue to remain front and centre in all our dealings, and this government is not going to do anything to jeopardize them.

    I'm not well informed on the actions of foreign agencies such as NATO but the US anti- China strategy appears to me to be far more about the fear China is going to take over as the world's next super power. I have no doubt NATO is as afraid of them as the US and they will both be working hard to find some excuse to have a go at them.

    Interesting time ahead.

  2. Castro 2
    1 April 2021 at 9:58 am

    What was the PRC spy doing in the Beehive all those years? crickets chirping

  3. Hanswurst 3
    1 April 2021 at 10:01 am

    Although I am inclined to believe that NATO's interests are pretty much as you suggest, I have to take issue with the way Cunningham frames Stoltenberg's statements. He doesn't say that the rise of China presents a threat, but also an opportunity; he says that it presents an opportunity, but also a threat. The inmplication is not that it is an unfavourable development that NATO can turn to its advantage, but that it is a favourable development that has a sting in the tail. His emphasis is specifically on the opportunity to engage with China on climate change, which I assume is predicated on an assessment that China no longer sees itself as engaged in an all-out battle to elevate itself to a modern industrial economy, but feels that it has achieved that status to a sufficient extent that it is worth its while to concentrate on sustainability, and also to compete with Western powers for a share of the burgeoning market in lucrative green technology.

    Stoltenberg also quite clearly links his statements about values to the observation that Chinese interests are investing growing quantities in NATO economies, and the implicit question is, "What do you do in a system that has evolved to sustain free markets centred around a few big players, if incrdeasing numbers of those big players begin representing interests opposed not aligned with those of the political class?"

    I don't think it's a case of any kind of mask slipping, or that his comments are terribly revelatory. He's just articulating pretty much exactly the interests you'd expect from someone in his position.

  4. greywarshark 4
    1 April 2021 at 11:52 am

    edit
    I bought the book – about how we traded with Russia – butter for Ladas and the diplomacy required to get there. We are capable of stepping on the high stones across the bog and avoiding the river Styx.

    But the programmed boys in the intelligence community may feel secure and righteous in their niche on the wall behind the plaster saint. Informed people will never forget the briefcase, the Playboy, and was it a pie or a sandwich? They harassed Bill Sutch who being more clued and worldly than they, wanted to hear the latest world political yarns from a Russian point of view without listening devices, and get the 'real oil' on what was going on, outside the official western blah.

    What a dilemma for us – the Aussies are stuffed with conservatives who may have moved into Alzheimers territory but it would be hard to know. The USA becomes more obdurate the more their own country falls apart and their adventures in other lands and the air, form the basis for spy-science-fiction novels. The Chinese have hatched from their communist chrysalis, but like my nascent monarch butterflies, seem prone to being affected by ill-omened influences affecting their expected outcome.

    Mike's opinion about our best route forward being not to take sides against China and indeed I think any country, is considered and wise I think, as an ordinary, thoughtful citizen.

    Stirring up anti-country feeling is historically a preparation for war, as we know from the experience of Iraq, and previous disasters.

    We need to keep thinking and trying to act wisely and try for ethically too, considering all factors (including that every country has perpetrated actions that do them no credit).

    • Anne 4.1
      1 April 2021 at 4:28 pm

      They harassed Bill Sutch who being more clued and worldly than they, wanted to hear the latest world political yarns from a Russian point of view without listening devices, and get the 'real oil' on what was going on, outside the official western blah.

      He was actually sounding out the Russians with a view to initiating negotiations for a trade deal between NZ and the [then] Soviet Union. He was light years ahead of his compatriots.

      • Tiger Mountain 4.1.1
        4 April 2021 at 11:28 am

        An old friend of mine, retired Lawyer, well involved in Wellington political affairs, wrote quite a tome about the “Razgovorov Affair”, and the various twists and turns beyond the Truth newspaper version of WB Sutch. No one really was interested in publishing it in the late 90s. It could have easily been E-published nowadays.

        • Anne 4.1.1.1
          4 April 2021 at 12:53 pm

          If the tome was at odds with the officially accepted version of events then it is possible the publishers of the day were 'advised' not to publish it.

          It was well known the Truth newspaper was in cohorts with the SIS in the 50s, 60s and 70s and given that newspaper's propensity for telling everything but the truth, it doesn't auger well for an accurate portrayal of the WB Sutch affair.

          A good example:
          My mother was a founding member of a well known philosophy group in Auckland. It was a branch of a highly respected group based in London. Around the mid 1970s, the Truth newspaper wrote an article claiming the group was… a front for a covert communist organisation linked to Moscow. A more gracious and kindly group of people – most of them professionals in their filed of endeavour you could not find.

          • Anne 4.1.1.1.1
            4 April 2021 at 1:06 pm

            Sorry ran out of time. Last sentence should read;

            A more gracious and kindly group of people (most of them professionals in their field of endeavour) you could not find.

          • Tiger Mountain 4.1.1.1.2
            4 April 2021 at 3:37 pm

            Getting your drift…R. House perhaps. My friend is well out of the fray now, was involved with “The Salient” for a bit and international stuff.

            • Anne 4.1.1.1.2.1
              4 April 2021 at 6:56 pm

              My father was also involved in some international stuff in the late 1960s and early 1970s which I know was the origin of my experiences. A group of individuals, including from our nearest neighbour, misconstrued his activities (a polite euphemism for political paranoia) and it ended up reflecting on his daughter – me.

              Yes, I think you have the drift…

    • Stuart Munro 4.2
      1 April 2021 at 5:00 pm

      Russia, unfortunately, contains both communities – the reasonable, even somewhat enlightened folk that let Gorbachov establish enterprise zones in Primorye without it being a neoliberal farce. And the descendants of the Okhrana, the cheats and oligarchs who pushed him out of power so that they could continue parasitizing off the state as they had in Soviet times.

      There were, and may still be opportunities for NZ in Russia, as there were when the EU didn't want our butter, and Russia did. The current leadership is from the dirty tricks side of the ledger however, which is why all border states, even Turkey, find NATO membership pretty attractive.

      • greywarshark 4.2.1
        1 April 2021 at 9:00 pm

        And do I take it that President Putin inclines towards the tricky side of the ledger? Though he did put one of the oligarchs in jail for getting above himself perhaps?

        • Stuart Munro 4.2.1.1
          2 April 2021 at 6:13 pm

          I think it's probably better to describe them as kleptiarchs than oligarchs. Like Roger Douglas and the merchant bankers who succeeded him, they have enriched themselves with stolen state wealth – they differ in this from the likes of Bill Gates, who for all his corporate chicanery contributed some value along his path to self-enrichment. The state asset thieves contributed nothing.

          Some of Putin's former allies fell out with the group and were killed or chased abroad. Some were never allied, and were done down and stripped of their wealth, and some were, perhaps akin the members of the Hart family that were not enriched by NZ's most famous billionaire, not quick enough to recognize the ambitions of other rising oligarchs.

      • Mike Smith 4.2.2
        2 April 2021 at 5:09 pm

        @ Stuart Munro
        I think the point being made is that NATO needs an adversary to provide relevance and a reason for its existence – hence opposition to China is seen by Stoltenberg as an opportunity to give it that relevance.

        • Stuart Munro 4.2.2.1
          2 April 2021 at 6:02 pm

          That's certainly one construction to put on things – and institutions being what they are, I'm sure there's an element of truth in it. We see the same thing in China's nationalist drumbeating about Uyghur cotton Chinese apparel brands rally on support for Xinjiang cotton sourcing | Financial Times (ft.com), and Putin has certainly played anti-western cards from time to time.

          But NATO has thus far refrained from invasions like the Citrus War, and Putin's little green men in the Crimea. Though doubtless NATO force involvement in deeply tainted conflicts like Iraq and Afghanistan can be laid at their door, they are not presently as energetically seeking confrontation as their colleagues to the east.

  5. peter sim 5
    1 April 2021 at 9:21 pm

    The sissies should be worried about nz terrorists attacks on mosque adherents.

    Our governments have, for far too long, been wedded to british imperialism.

    Imperialism from anywhere has to be resisted.

  6. Trude 6
    1 April 2021 at 9:47 pm

    It would be good to see some more open acknowledgement that the Five Eyes are engaged in much more than counter-espionage.

    "An honest, open environment can bring out the best in people."
    – Pierre Omidyar

  7. Subliminal 7
    2 April 2021 at 9:37 am

    War and peace. Great themes. The greatest threat to humanity remains as nuclear weapons. This is something that is easy to lose consciousness of amongst impending climate disaster. It could however be argued that ending military confrontation would make negotiations on climate change mitigation a simple matter if only because the concentrated energy and portability of fossil fuels would not be so critical. Alternative energy sources require stable and robust communities. So is anyone still concerned about the nuclear threat? Trump tried to ditch non proliferation and walked away from the JCPOA. Biden appears to be following Trump at least with regard to the JCPOA. Also, Bidens characterisation of Putin as a killer who must be made to pay is quite unbelievable as is the tone taken by Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken towards the Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi in Anchorage. It seems that the USA only understands confrontation and has lost any ability at diplomacy. What then of China? They have clearly stated in there recent historic agreement with Iran that they support and wish to reinstate the JCPOA. But not only this. They also support a nuclear free Middle East. On a tour through the ME Wang has been supported in a vision of an independent, sovereign ME by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran. America may be back but China is making the moves that are most likely to end the chaos that is the Middle East.

    • Anne 7.1
      2 April 2021 at 10:14 am

      Is it not all about America maintaining its super power status? Strutting the super stage full of sound and fury, is the mark of a declining nation desperate to hold on to its power at any cost.

      Mind you, the same could probably be said of Russia which makes the whole scenario rather amusing – was it not for the deadly consequences.

      • Subliminal 7.1.1
        4 April 2021 at 9:20 am

        Hi Anne. Yes, I would tend to go for the not so amusing scenario. Wheras Trump was mostly focused on clipping China's wings, historically, Biden has always had greater animosity towards Russia and close ties with the post coup Ukraine government. We can see this in his characterisation of Putin from where there is no chance that there will ever be any kind of non confrontational dialogue. This doesn't bode well for the future stability of Europe. Added to this is the realisation that Biden is losing the support of Europe with his approach to China. So Russia and specifically the NATO beach head that is the Ukraine is an ideal opportunity for Biden to make good on his "America is back" to reassert their dominance over Europe. Of course, this is all being portrayed as reaction to a Russian buildup but the reality is that this is just another opportunity to "poke the bear" and hope for a reaction.

        • Anne 7.1.1.1
          4 April 2021 at 10:15 am

          Thanks very much for that explanation Subliminal.

          I don't have specific knowledge of these things but it has been my sense for years that the 'would be super powers' have been playing what I regard as a senseless and dangerous game of cat and mouse simply because they can. I don't think any one of them is better or worse than the others in this regard.

          In the 1980s I found myself entwined in an intrigue (in NZ) which had an element of cold war paranoia and power games attached. I was the innocent piggy in the middle who didn't know what was going on around me until it was too late to do anything about it. But the experience did leave me with a reasonable ability to broadly sniff out this type of conduct despite a lack of detailed knowledge.

  8. Adrian Thornton 8
    2 April 2021 at 7:07 pm

    Very good piece M.Smith, and also very timely. Thanks.

    This might be of interest…

    As US continues New Cold War, Russia and China forge new ties

    "In its opening months, the Biden administration has targeted Russia and China with belligerent rhetoric, new sanctions, and continued military provocations. Lyle Goldstein of the US Naval War College discusses how the US is inflaming the key flashpoints of Taiwan, Xinjiang, the South China Sea, Ukraine, and nuclear weapons, and how Russia and China are deepening cooperation in response."

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4uotsKHuNQ

  9. Penny 9
    3 April 2021 at 9:09 am

    What about the Centre for Australian / American Progress?

    There's a NATO link there… at least one. Ivo Daadler.

    [I let this through although it lacks any links or other useful info, the centre doesn’t exist as such, and the surname is spelled incorrectly. Let’s see what this commenter has to offer, but by the look of it, not much. Any comment that starts with “What about …” can only get worse from the start – Incognito]

  10. Vaughan M 10
    4 April 2021 at 4:03 pm

    It’s time to play the music, it’s time to light the lights, it's time to meet the Muppet on the Muppet Show tonight. . .

    Whenever we see the cutesy academic next-door Anne-Marie Brady, wheeled out on MSM all dressed up in front of the bright lights with her makeup on, you know it’s time for the Demonisation Of China Show.

    A show brought to you by Washington, starring a shill for the US Deep State Anne-Marie Brady. Brady is nothing less than a CIA asset – bought and paid for NATO apologist and propagandist pig dog. No amount of lipstick on the pig can hide the evil agenda she is pushing & represents. Tune in next week when you’ll hear Miss Piggy, I mean Anne-Marie Brady say. . . “Amerika good, China bad”.

    Seriously, I wonder what a hot war with China would be like? End of Humanity?

    I wonder what a cataclysmic asteroid strike on Washington, and all her military bases around the world would be like? A gift to Humanity?

    There is no doubt the biggest threat facing Humanity is the United States. This rouge State has form like no other generating wars on a regular basis. Fantastic form generating massive profits for the evil sociopaths associated with, and mired deep within, the MICIMATT (Military-Industrial-Congressional-Intelligence-Media-Academia-Think-Tank) complex. For war is their business, certainly NOT peace. We have witnessed time and again wars manufactured before our eyes on Western news media and indeed our own local media in New Zealand. Parroting the same talking points from Washington, based on lies and manufactured consent. Blatant propaganda repeated on high rotation by Deep State affiliated media [specific broadcasters in Five Eyes nations] to ensure more wars for the coalition of the killing.

    Our news media is an abject failure in terms of fact checking: Specifically, TVNZ et al, news segments featuring daily satellite feeds by affiliated partners such as CBS, BBC, Sky News. Almost always no questions are asked about reliability of sources, allegations & assertions made, no content checked for truth in those affiliated ‘Ministry of Truth’ stories. Seemingly the news editors and producers here just press play, and potato-head news presenters dutifully read the auto-cue. So, when we see news segments alleging mass concentration camps and human rights violations [genocide] by China, we unconditionally accept that as fact without knowing the full story or the truth. When we read or see hit-pieces by academics in the news media we unconditionally accept that as fact because they’re academics and hey we read & watched it in the news so it must be true, right?

    From Iraq to Syria and beyond it’s the same playbook, demonisation of target country slowly ramped up over weeks & months – rinse & repeat. China is undergoing such demonisation treatment now in the media; at the same time Washington is dismantling diplomatic relations with China & her allies. The Belt & Road initiative and rejection of US reserve currency for trade by BRI partners are direct threats to US hegemony. Access to rear earth elements [lack of] is of major concern to the United States, technological & military advancement will be seriously disrupted by China if they choose to stop exporting to the rouge American state.

    Jacinda Ardern, are we for peace or are we for war? Please tell the United States Embassy in Wellington to fuck off back to where they came from. Then please, tell the Israeli Embassy in Wellington to fuck off back to where they came from. Then please this is VERY important, dismantle all infrastructure supporting NSA spy bases in New Zealand and inform other members of 5-Eyes we (NZ) are withdrawing immediately. Also, sack Rebecca Kitteridge & reform the SIS and make them pick apples or something useful as soon as possible. Lastly, tell Andrew Little over at GCSB to pull his socks up. Cheers.

    Debunking US accusation of China’s ‘genocide’ against Uighurs – Max Blumenthal>

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZkxaEC1xjY

    ‘Independent’ report claiming Uyghur genocide brought to you by sham university, neocon ideologues lobbying to ‘punish’ China – AJIT SINGH>

    https://thegrayzone.com/2021/03/17/report-uyghur-genocide-sham-university-neocon-punish-china/

    US/NATO vs. Russia-China in a hybrid war to the finish – Pepe Escobar>

    https://www.lewrockwell.com/2021/03/no_author/us-nato-vs-russia-china-in-a-hybrid-war-to-the-finish/

    Peace, Brothers & Sisters.

    Vaughan M

    • RedLogix 10.1
      4 April 2021 at 4:24 pm

      Colonialism with Chinese characteristics.

    • Incognito 10.2
      4 April 2021 at 5:34 pm

      A copy & paste job from your comment on TDB.

      Can you please do us a favour and leave the misogynist remarks and character assassination at the door next time? It kinda undermines your comments about ‘the truth’ and demonization and manipulation in and by the media.

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    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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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 ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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. ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    4 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
    4 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 ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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 ...
    Skeptical Science
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    4 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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 ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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 ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 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 ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    5 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 ...
    Bowalley Road
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    6 days 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
    6 days 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
    6 days 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
    6 days 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 ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    6 days 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
    6 days 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
    6 days 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
    6 days 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
    6 days 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
    6 days ago

  • The Song of Saqua: Volume III
    Time to revisit something I haven’t covered in a while: the D&D campaign, with Saqua the aquatic half-vampire. Last seen in July: https://phuulishfellow.wordpress.com/2023/07/27/the-song-of-saqua-volume-ii/ The delay is understandable, once one realises that the interim saw our DM come down with a life-threatening medical situation. They have since survived to make ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    6 days ago

  • Chris Bishop: Smokin’
    Yes. Correct. It was an election result. And now we are the elected government. ...
    My ThinksBy boonman
    7 days ago

  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science  Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Nov 26, 2023 thru Dec 2, 2023. Story of the Week CO2 readings from Mauna Loa show failure to combat climate change Daily atmospheric carbon dioxide data from Hawaiian volcano more ...
    Skeptical Science
    7 days ago

  • Affirmative Action.
    Affirmative Action was a key theme at this election, although I don’t recall anyone using those particular words during the campaign.They’re positive words, and the way the topic was talked about was anything but. It certainly wasn’t a campaign of saying that Affirmative Action was a good thing, but that, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    7 days ago

  • 100 days of something
    It was at the end of the Foxton straights, at the end of 1978, at 100km/h, that someone tried to grab me from behind on my Yamaha.They seemed to be yanking my backpack. My first thought was outrage. My second was: but how? Where have they come from? And my ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    7 days ago

  • Look who’s stepped up to champion Winston
    There’s no news to be gleaned from the government’s official website today  – it contains nothing more than the message about the site being under maintenance. The time this maintenance job is taking and the costs being incurred have us musing on the government’s commitment to an assault on inflation. ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week ago

  • What's The Story?
    Don’t you sometimes wish they’d just tell the truth? No matter how abhorrent or ugly, just straight up tell us the truth?C’mon guys, what you’re doing is bad enough anyway, pretending you’re not is only adding insult to injury.Instead of all this bollocks about the Smokefree changes being to do ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago

  • The longest of weeks
    Hello! Here comes the Saturday edition of More Than A Feilding, catching you up on the past week’s editions.Friday Under New Management Week in review, quiz style1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • Suggested sessions of EGU24 to submit abstracts to
    Like earlier this year, members from our team will be involved with next year's General Assembly of the European Geosciences Union (EGU). The conference will take place on premise in Vienna as well as online from April 14 to 19, 2024. The session catalog has been available since November 1 ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 week ago

  • Under New Management
    1. Which of these best describes Aotearoa?a. Progressive nation, proud of its egalitarian spirit and belief in a fair go b. Best little country on the planet c. Under New Management 2. Which of these best describes the 100 days of action announced this week by the new government?a. Petulantb. Simplistic and wrongheaded c. ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    1 week ago

  • While we wait patiently, our new Minister of Education is up and going with a 100-day action plan
    Sorry to say, the government’s official website is still out of action. When Point of Order paid its daily visit, the message was the same as it has been for the past week: Site under maintenance Beehive.govt.nz is currently under maintenance. We will be back shortly. Thank you for your ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    1 week 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    2 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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    4 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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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
    7 days 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week 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
    1 week ago

  • New Zealand welcomes European Parliament vote on the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement
    A significant milestone in ratifying the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was reached last night, with 524 of the 705 member European Parliament voting in favour to approve the agreement. “I’m delighted to hear of the successful vote to approve the NZ-EU FTA in the European Parliament overnight. This is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 weeks ago

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