The UK elections – Has Labour got the big mo?

Written By: - Date published: 10:58 am, May 21st, 2017 - 66 comments
Categories: campaigning, Deep stuff, elections, International, Jeremy Corbyn, Politics, uk politics - Tags:

Over in England things are getting interesting. The unloseable election called at a time when Labour was at its weakest and most messiest was meant to be a cake walk for the tories. An increased majority was a foregone conclusion and the future of the Labour Party let alone of leader Jeremy Corbyn was not guaranteed.

Theresa May was that certain she would win that she was not even going to debate with her opponent. A series of tightly scripted photo opportunities was all she would need to guarantee her inevitable victory.

And Corbyn was going to be shown up as being totally inadequate for the job.

Well a couple of things are happening.

Corbyn is campaigning really well and giving it everything. His direct style of campaigning where he goes out and meets ordinary people face to face is in complete contrast to May’s.  It appears to be working.

And the polls have started to narrow.

From the Evening Standard:

Labour received a further boost this week as two new polls showed Jeremy Corbyn’s party eating into the Conservative lead ahead of the General Election.

An ORB International poll for the Telegraph put Labour two points up since last week on 34 per cent.

Although Mr Corbyn’s party trailed Tories – on 46 per cent – by 12 points, it matched Labour’s best rating in a mainstream poll this year and added weight to the idea that its campaign is winning over voters.

Crucially, it puts Labour comfortably above the 30.4 per cent share of the vote achieved by Ed Miliband in 2015, a benchmark which some supporters argue should remove pressure on Mr Corbyn to quit if he fails to win power.

Meanwhile, a second poll by Opinium for the Observer put Labour up one point on 33 per cent to Tories’ 46 per cent.

Earlier this week two other polls also showed Mr Corbyn’s party was closing in on Theresa May’s Conservative Party.

And Mr Corbyn said: “This message is getting through. Get on any bus, get on any train, go in any cafe, talk to people.

“The whole discussion and the whole debate is unravelling from the Tory point of view, because people are saying ‘Hang on, why are so many young people in such stress?

“Why are so many older people being threatened by this Government? Can’t we as a society, as a country, as a people do things differently and better?”

The situation is complicated by the first past the post system and by the fact that a progressive Scottish National Party will almost inevitably sweep Scotland and guarantee a left voting block.  They currently hold 8.3% of the parliamentary seats.  And the tories are still way ahead.

But with 19 days to go the result is no longer a foregone conclusion.  And events around the world confirm that established parties should never take the voting population for granted.

66 comments on “The UK elections – Has Labour got the big mo? ”

  1. garibaldi 1

    Fantastic news but he is still up against the all powerful media. Fingers crossed.

  2. Wainwright 2

    Corbyn sounds like a Labour leader. Have to question anyone still peddling the line he’s unelectable.

  3. Bill 3

    Well, still thinking he can do it – in spite of almost all msm being hostile. The SNP did it afterall – against 100% of msm being hostile. And they did it in much the same way as Jeremy Corbyn is at the moment.

    The only fly in the ointment is time. Will the rise in Labour support be linear, or more to the point, will the decline in Tory support be linear, or will it, like a chunk of ice, suddenly collapse due to an accelerating rate of exponential change?

    Obviously, anyone with half a heart and even half a brain will be hoping for non-linear shifts to kick in.

    (Just to reiterate – and no, it’s not entirely an aside – I’ll be expressing no surprise whatsoever if there’s another CW incident in Syria just prior to election day. That Falklands/Maggie effect. )

      • Bill 3.1.1

        Chemical weapons. Sorry.

        • Stunned Mullet 3.1.1.1

          Trying to corner the market in tinfoil futures Bill ?

          • Bill 3.1.1.1.1

            Looking for a lengthy ban Stunned Mullet? Try putting up an argument as to why that scenario’s unthinkable instead of school playground comments, aye?

            • Stunned Mullet 3.1.1.1.1.1

              It’s about as tinfoilesque a suggestion as those wags who posit that the airplanes flying into the twin towers and pentagon was all an inside job by the USA to justify their ventures into Afghanistan and Iraq.

            • Psycho Milt 3.1.1.1.1.2

              Well, it’s not unthinkable – the Tories could in theory have had a bunch of agents provocateurs slowly and carefully inserted into Da’esh, and those agents could at an appropriate time be delivered some sarin manufactured in Britain using the Syrians’ manufacturing techniques, to be released immediately following a Syrian regime air attack on a rebel-held area, with the White Helmets in place to record plenty of video of the results. Not unthinkable, just highly unlikely and dependent on a huge and completely watertight conspiracy (this last presumably the reason for Mullet’s “tinfoil hat” reference).

              • Hanswurst

                I imagine it would be more along the lines of an explosion or attack somewhere (possibly even something that occurs every day, but happens to be reported rather sensationally at just that point) with “initial reports” that chemical weapons may have been involved.

                It wouldn’t really matter for electoral purposes if the media had to backtrack a week later and say, “Well actually it was just a couple of kids throwing eggs at a tank”.

                • That just shifts the highly unlikely enormous and watertight conspiracy to one in which every media organisation with people covering the Syrian conflict is involved.

                  • Bill

                    Care to name any western media outlets that have consistently reported from inside Syria as opposed to reporting Syrian events from the likes of Turkey or the Lebanon?

                    The answer is none.

                    Now, when you aren’t even in the country you’re reporting on and therefor relying on second hand reports…

                    And when the UK and French governments have funded and constructed their very own media structures within the country (but given them the appearance of being independent of them and “rebel” news sources)…

                    Yeah, where’s the need for a conspiracy PM?

            • Doogs 3.1.1.1.1.3

              Sorry Bill, can’t help myself. This is for you and a host of other people who use the incorrect spelling.

              The sound ‘ay’ is spelt ‘eh’ and ‘aye’ is pronounced ‘eye’.

              Such as “This is a great show, eh?”
              ” I voted aye to the motion.”

              Don’t be offended. It’s a modern problem, and I know I’m a pedant at heart.

              • weka

                Depends on whether one is Scottish or Kiwi 😉 Pretty sure that Bill’s use of ‘aye’ was both intentional and correct.

                • In Vino

                  If Doods thinks that English spelling and pronunciation are as simple as that, he is not much of a pedant. He is quoting one-off, isolated oddities. and pretending that there is a God-given reason for them.
                  ‘Allayed’ is not pronounced like ‘eye’, although New Zealanders and Australians make it sound that way to other English speakers.

                  • Doogs

                    Doogs, please! And nowhere did I pretend that this was god-given. What I should have said is that “in NZ usage” this is correct.

                    Interesting to hear you mention “allayed” – I think the problem of people who are not from down under hearing “all’eye’ed” is because of the very flat vowel sound as projected by Aussies in particular.

                    Examples – ‘five-a-rit’ for favourite, ‘moot’ for meat, and others. The curious exception, of course, is ‘seex’ for six.

                • McFlock

                  aye’ll agree with that…

                  • In Vino

                    Delayeted!

                  • Bill

                    Aye well, I’ll agree to agree with what you’re saying there McFlock. But only seeing as how what Weka’s said is right enough.

                    Otherwise I might have said – Eh…not sure.

                    Note to Doog. ‘That ‘eh’ as in ‘egg’.

                    • Doogs

                      FYI Bill

                      eh |eɪ|
                      exclamation
                      used to represent a sound made in speech, especially one used to express enquiry, surprise, or to elicit agreement: ‘Eh? What’s this?’.

                      aye 1 |ʌɪ| (also ay)
                      exclamation
                      archaic or dialect said to express assent; yes: aye, you’re right there.
                      • (aye aye) Nautical a response accepting an order: aye aye, captain.
                      • (in voting) I assent: all in favour say aye.
                      noun
                      an affirmative answer, especially in voting. the House divided: Ayes 211, Noes 271.

                      From the OED.
                      I do note however that ‘aye’ is also pronounced ‘ay’, and in all my years I have not heard it pronounced in the context explained above as ‘ay’. You will note that Oxford has it as archaic. Nonetheless, my main point of contention was that when you put the exclamation at the end of a statement following a comma you are expressing an enquiry, as stated in the meaning for ‘eh’.

                    • weka

                      Bill wasn’t saying ay, he was saying eye. At least that’s how I heard it. He probably knows better than any of us 😉

                • Doogs

                  Not according to my dictionary, and my 65 years of usage.

                  • McFlock

                    only if your interpretation of the original comment is correct, yes?
                    only if your interpretation of the original comment is correct, aye?

                    • weka

                      I think putting a ? with aye is a particular Scottish thing that Kiwis wouldn’t expect, hence Doog thinking Bill was saying eh (ay).

                      ‘Eh’ has to be the stupidest piece of spelling in the whole English language, which is saying something.

                    • In Vino

                      Eigh?

          • greywarshark 3.1.1.1.2

            StunnedM
            I think you mistake sarcasm for witticism.

    • UncookedSelachimorpha 3.2

      Snowball effect = non linear increase!

      Here’s hoping, go Jeremy!!

    • DoublePlusGood 3.3

      Surely if they were going to do a false flag incident they would do it in London for maximum fear?

      • Bill 3.3.1

        Oooh! And then suggest that evil Assad is bombing the UK. Fuck, I think even the most gullible of the gullible would have problems believing that one.

        It’s about outrage DPG – not fear. (And if before June 8th, possibly about getting May a bump in the polls. She’s alreay said she wants a new vote on military action in Syria if she wins the election) Assad is to be removed. So let’s bomb the country back to the stone age same as Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya. Oh. Can’t. Need a pretext.

        Enter chemical weapons attack on Syrian civilians by their own government.

        People will again believe Assad to be a psychopathic idiot. People again won’t allow themselves to countenance the fact that the heachoppers making the claims and sending the tweets and making the vids and what not are a UK/US/EU presence in Syria that has been bank-rolled to the tune of $100 million +. (Not a bad amount of money for what by some accounts is only 3000 people)

        An never mind if all evidence points to headchoppers unleashing the chemicals (eg Ghouta – remnants of a rocket that did not have the range to have come from government controlled areas, Khan Sheikhoun- even photographic evidence showed the projectile was not delivered from the air) ‘we’ got blanket media control – facts schmacts.

        • Stunned Mullet 3.3.1.1

          “People will again believe Assad to be a psychopathic idiot.”

          Whether you’re for or ‘agin’ him I didn’t think their were many that had stopped believing he’s a psychopathic idiot outside of the usual apologists and sycophants.

          • Bill 3.3.1.1.1

            Personally neither for nor agin.

            But tell me. When did people begin thinking he was a psychopathic idiot? Was it at any time during his Presidency before 2011?

            I guess the genesis of the idea must be somewhere in the first 10 years of his Presidency, yes? And I’m guessing the western media was jam packed with stuff, between the time of him becoming President in 2000 and the beginnings of 2011, about how he was a lunatic.

            Except.

            Do your own time bound google search. Come back and tell me what you’ve found. (You won’t need much space.)

        • Cemetery Jones 3.3.1.2

          This is my concern about the situation. May is going to win big time because of Brexit, and the reason for that is of course that Corbyn’s opponents won’t respect the vote, while I suspect he does, albeit with some legitimate concerns. But by refusing to allow Corbyn to be realistic about Brexit, they are going to hand May a very strong majority – and she will be using it for war in Syria long before she uses it for Brexit.

  4. weka 4

    I’ve forgotten how FPP works. Can Labour choose to govern if it gets together with Libdems, SNP etc the day after the election? Who determines who is allowed to form govt?

    • Same as here – whoever controls a majority in Parliament gets to be the government. If that majority consists of three parties, it doesn’t matter as long as they agree on confidence and supply.

      • Bill 4.1.1

        No PM. No need for any confidence and supply agreement or arrangement. It’s a fixed term parliament.

    • Bill 4.2

      Any party looking to form the government must secure 50%+ of an initial vote of confidence.

      Theoretically (and ignoring the N Irish parties because I can never remember which of them falls where in terms of Westminster’s divides) if the Tories can’t secure a 50%+ vote, then Labour could get the nod from the Green, SNP, Lib Dems, Plaid Cymru…and if that’s 50%+, then Labour form the government.

      After that, it’s up to them what arrangements (if any) they come to with any other party.

      • weka 4.2.1

        Ok, so it’s not 44 vs 35 (yougov below), it’s more like 44 vs 44. In which case it’s already a very tight election. I’m guessing that SNP puts the left bloc ahead. Why are people not talking about this? Is it because the Lib Dems are hedging their bets, and/or can’t be trusted?

        • weka 4.2.1.1

          Or 47 vs 44 if Ukip/Tories form, which I assume they will. We need a FPP calculator.

          Are you sure it’s 50% of the vote, or 50% of the seats?

          • Psycho Milt 4.2.1.1.1

            It’s effectively 50% of the seats, since the confidence vote is a vote by MPs in the House.

            • weka 4.2.1.1.1.1

              ta.

            • Draco T Bastard 4.2.1.1.1.2

              And each seat is the result of a plurality vote in each electorate rather than a proportional vote across the country.

              • AB

                Yes – it’s FPP, so can give completely aberrant and anti-democratic results.
                In 2015 the Tories got 36.9% of the popular vote and won 330 (50.8%) of the 650 seats in the Commons, i.e. a variance of +13.9%
                Labour got 30.4% of the popular vote and won 232 (35.7%) seats, a variance of +5.3%. The big losers in terms of seats versus proportion of the popular vote were UKIP and the Greens.

                This is why we have MMP in NZ – because no government with just 36.9% of the vote has any legitimacy whatsoever – yet in the UK they basically get to run the show. Margaret Thatcher never got more than 43.9% of the popular vote. FPP is a total crock.

                Generally speaking under FPP – a 9% lead over your main rival in the popular vote across the country will probably translate into a very large majority of seats in parliament.
                You can see this from the 2015 results – the Tories 6.5% lead in the popular vote over Labour gave them a 15.1% lead in the number of seats.

                So the gap has to close a lot more before we can pop any corks. Hoping beyond hope though

                Even more bizzarely, when the UK had a referendum in 2011 to change from FPP to an alternative, it was rejected by a proportion of 2:1 of voters. Talk about voting for your own enslavement.

          • mickysavage 4.2.1.1.2

            Complicated because 44 v 35 in an FPP enviroment will give the Tories a great number of seats but the SNP’s 56 or seats will potentially be very important.

            • weka 4.2.1.1.2.1

              Ok, so the only way to understand what the electorate is thinking pre-election would be to poll each electorate? Doesn’t that make a nonsense of the 10% Tory lead media thing?

        • Bill 4.2.1.2

          You can’t easily translate the voting percentages into seats because although the SNP only have something like 6% of the UK vote, they’ll win over 50 seats, while if UKIP had 6% of the vote, they probably wouldn’t win a single seat.

  5. weka 5

    This from Corbyn,

    “#YouGov/#SundayTimes #Tory lead collapsing, the lowest since last year. #May’s lead has halved – #RT as this should be #trending #GE17”

    https://twitter.com/CorbynFor_PM/status/866040981027737600

    Conservatives 44% -5
    Labour 35% +4
    Lib Dem 9% no change
    Ukip 3% no change

  6. weka 6

    🤔 John Palethorpe‏ @jjpalethorpe 3m3 minutes ago

    That Tory lead in the UK polls is mostly down to the utter collapse of the UKIP vote, now the Tories have gone full eye-ball swivel.

    That’s something Gordy Brown and Ed Miliband didn’t have to deal with, the UKIP eurosceptic bulwark pulling votes across constituencies.

    Given the anti-Corbs Labour lot insist he couldn’t win, that Labour’s polling similar to Blair ’05 really is a repudiation of that idea.

    https://twitter.com/jjpalethorpe/status/866097814777995264

  7. Rob 7

    Just like last time, can’t wait to see the exit polls. But keep getting your hopes up and spending hours on intellectualising the situation without truly grasping what it’s all about.

    • Ed 7.1

      Rob, your comment appears as a comment on the initial post – perhaps you could tell us just what it is all about – or did you intend this to be a comment on another comment? – or were you trolling?

  8. adam 8

    This could be a win and lose election for the Tories. They could win, and be the losers. They will have a real united left in Parliament against them. Every day austerity will be questioned, every day questions will be asked about their decisions with clear and well presented alternatives now on the table.

    Like I said they other day – TINA is dead, and I don’t think any of the liberal parties can handle a world which not only questions them, but puts well thought out, and constructive alternatives.

  9. Ad 9

    June 8.
    16 days.
    10 points apart.
    Now A .8% shift per day to do it.

    Much further apart than last time.
    Don’t wish for a miracle.

    Anyone who wants to tilt for Corbyn, donate 100 pounds today.

  10. Glenn 10

    He may do well with the grey vote that usually goes Tory.

    “He told an audience in Birmingham: “Not satisfied with plunging our social care system into crisis, Theresa May’s nasty party has promised more attacks on older people – scrapping the triple-lock on state pensions, removing the winter fuel allowance and asset stripping the ill by forcing those who need social care to pay for it with their homes.

    “Labour will protect the winter fuel allowance and triple-lock on state pensions to deliver a secure and dignified retirement for all, and spend an extra £45 billion on the NHS and social care over five years, so that older people can get the care they deserve…society should not be setting the future of our young against security for the old. We have the wealth to offer a decent, secure life for all.”
    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-corbyn-eyes-grey-vote-accuses-theresa-may-triple-whammy-attack-on-pensioners-manifesto-a7747036.html

    Imagine even when you live in your own home being charged for every bit of care needed to keep you out of hospital. Half hour visit by the district nurse..ding.. 50 pounds please or would you like your estate billed?

    Strong and Stable says Theresa May….Idi Amin probably used the same slogan.

    • “He told an audience in Birmingham: “Not satisfied with plunging our social care system into crisis, Theresa May’s nasty party has promised more attacks on older people – scrapping the triple-lock on state pensions, removing the winter fuel allowance and asset stripping the ill by forcing those who need social care to pay for it with their homes.”

      Who the merry hell do these Tory / neo liberals think the fuck they are ?!!?

      The hell with them !

      ” Strong and Stable says Theresa May….Idi Amin probably used the same slogan.”

      That calls for a song .

      Idi Amin – the Amazin’ Man song – YouTube
      Video for idi amin song▶ 4:50
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFeJJAQPiK4

  11. Sanctuary 12

    Latest polling has the Tories down 12%, Labour up 9% and the gap between the parties now single figures.

    More to the point, the momentum shift is all with the Labour party. Yesterday Corbyn pulled a huge crowd of many thousands in super marginal Wirral West.

    Corbyn has definitely surprised the Tories with his vigorous old-style campaigning. he is pulling big crowds and is getting political cut-through in the face of a hostile media, in a manner very similar to how other popular uprisings against the liberal capitalist establishment have succeeded.

    The Labour manifesto offered the one desperately yearned for ingredient missing in some much of the triangulated politics of the radical centre – hope. People are daring to hope and even the Corbyn nay-sayers are moving back to Labour and saying they will vote for Labour because of it’s policies.

    • Bill 12.1

      🙂 And there was The Guardian banging on just the other day about how he was only pulling any kind of a crowd in safe Labour territory (eg – Hebden Bridge).

  12. McFlock 13

    This is beginning to look like a bloody nose for the tories, regardless of final outcome.

  13. hectorjones electrical 14

    Our only hope is demo-cracy. Funny how that translates into oldsters–Corbyn, Sanders– who were active before the ‘return of the rich’ in 1980. I.e. the ‘ leftists’ in power since have been as weak as wishes–more importantly, dubious. Long live the people–more appositely, the politicians who believe in the rule of the people.

    Funny though, it was as simple as the politics overthrown in 1980. I was there and almost immediately opposed the ‘friends of the rich’ in power, as did a lot of others. At the least, I would have preferred Ozzy’s ever-dubious-of-authority forcefulness of resistance. Neoliberalism was bankrupt from the start.

    They took advantage of NZers’ reasonableness. My older family were fierce about not taking a backward step. Even my gentle grandfather exhibited this in one of my few memories of him: a dairyowner gave him an Australian coin in change–fireworks. It could be interpreted as pedantry, but with that pedantry we would still have our old social-democracy. It was heresy for them to place their weight on their back foot.

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    Geoffrey Miller writes – Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on Dune 2, and images of Islam
    Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture ...
    2 days ago
  • New Rail Operations Centre Promises Better Train Services
    Last week Transport Minster Simeon Brown and Mayor Wayne Brown opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre. The new train control centre will see teams from KiwiRail, Auckland Transport and Auckland One Rail working more closely together to improve train services across the city. The Auckland Rail Operations Centre in ...
    2 days ago
  • Bernard's six newsy things at 6.36am on Monday, March 18
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson said in an exit interview with Q+A yesterday the Government can and should sustain more debt to invest in infrastructure for future generations. Elsewhere in the news in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 6:36am: Read more ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: Wang Yi’s perfectly-timed, Aukus-themed visit to New Zealand
    Timing is everything. And from China’s perspective, this week’s visit by its foreign minister to New Zealand could be coming at just the right moment. The visit by Wang Yi to Wellington will be his first since 2017. Anniversaries are important to Beijing. It is more than just a happy ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    2 days ago
  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to March 25 and beyond
    TL;DR: The key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to March 18 include:China’s Foreign Minister visiting Wellington today;A post-cabinet news conference this afternoon; the resumption of Parliament on Tuesday for two weeks before Easter;retiring former Labour Finance Minister Grant Robertson gives his valedictory speech in Parliament; ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Bitter and angry; Winston First
    New Zealand First Leader Winston Peters’s state-of-the-nation speech on Sunday was really a state-of-Winston-First speech. He barely mentioned any of the Government’s key policies and could not even wholly endorse its signature income tax cuts. Instead, he rehearsed all of his complaints about the Ardern Government, including an extraordinary claim ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #11
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, March 10, 2024 thru Sat, March 16, 2024. Story of the week This week we'll give you a little glimpse into how we collect links to share and ...
    2 days ago
  • Out of Touch.
    “I’ve been internalising a really complicated situation in my head.”When they kept telling us we should wait until we get to know him, were they taking the piss? Was it a case of, if you think this is bad, wait till you get to know the real Christopher, after the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • Bring out your Dad
    Happy fourth anniversary, Pandemic That Upended Bloody Everything. I have been observing it by enjoying my second bout of COVID. It’s 5.30 on Sunday morning and only now are lights turning back on for me.Allow me to copy and paste what I told reader Sara yesterday:Depleted, fogged and crappy. Resting, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • The bewildering world of Chris Luxon – Guns for all, not no lunch for kids
    .“$10 and a target that bleeds” - Bleeding Targets for Under $10!.Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.This government appears hell-bent on either scrapping life-saving legislation or reintroducing things that - frustrated critics insist - will be dangerous and likely ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    3 days ago
  • Expert Opinion: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    It hardly strikes me as fair to criticise a government for doing exactly what it said it was going to do. For actually keeping its promises.”THUNDER WAS PLAYING TAG with lightning flashes amongst the distant peaks. Its rolling cadences interrupted by the here-I-come-here-I-go Doppler effect of the occasional passing car. ...
    3 days ago
  • Manufacturing The Truth.
    Subversive & Disruptive Technologies: Just as happened with that other great regulator of the masses, the Medieval Church, the advent of a new and hard-to-control technology – the Internet –  is weakening the ties that bind. Then, and now, those who enjoy a monopoly on the dissemination of lies, cannot and will ...
    3 days ago
  • A Powerful Sensation of Déjà Vu.
    Been Here Before: To find the precedents for what this Coalition Government is proposing, it is necessary to return to the “glory days” of Muldoonism.THE COALITION GOVERNMENT has celebrated its first 100 days in office by checking-off the last of its listed commitments. It remains, however, an angry government. It ...
    3 days ago
  • Can you guess where world attention is focussed (according to Greenpeace)? It’s focussed on an EPA...
    Bob Edlin writes –  And what is the world watching today…? The email newsletter from Associated Press which landed in our mailbox early this morning advised: In the news today: The father of a school shooter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter; prosecutors in Trump’s hush-money case ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Further integrity problems for the Greens in suspending MP Darleen Tana
    Bryce Edwards writes – Is another Green MP on their way out? And are the Greens severely tarnished by another integrity scandal? For the second time in three months, the Green Party has secretly suspended an MP over integrity issues. Mystery is surrounding the party’s decision to ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Jacqui Van Der Kaay: Greens’ transparency missing in action
    For the last few years, the Green Party has been the party that has managed to avoid the plague of multiple scandals that have beleaguered other political parties. It appears that their luck has run out with a second scandal which, unfortunately for them, coincided with Golraz Ghahraman, the focus ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus with six newsey things at 6:46am for Saturday, March 16
    TL;DR: The six newsey things that stood out to me as of 6:46am on Saturday, March 16.Andy Foster has accidentally allowed a Labour/Green amendment to cut road user chargers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, which the Government might accept; NZ Herald Thomas Coughlan Simeon Brown has rejected a plea from Westport ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • How Did FTX Crash?
    What seemed a booming success a couple of years ago has collapsed into fraud convictions.I looked at the crash of FTX (short for ‘Futures Exchange’) in November 2022 to see whether it would impact on the financial system as a whole. Fortunately there was barely a ripple, probably because it ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    4 days ago
  • Elections in Russia and Ukraine
    Anybody following the situation in Ukraine and Russia would probably have been amused by a recent Tweet on X NATO seems to be putting in an awful lot of effort to influence what is, at least according to them, a sham election in an autocracy.When do the Ukrainians go to ...
    4 days ago
  • Bernard’s six stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15
    TL;DR: Shaun Baker on Wynyard Quarter's transformation. Magdalene Taylor on the problem with smart phones. How private equity are now all over reinsurance. Dylan Cleaver on rugby and CTE. Emily Atkin on ‘Big Meat’ looking like ‘Big Oil’.Bernard’s six-stack of substacks at 6pm on March 15Photo by Jeppe Hove Jensen ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Buzz from the Beehive Finance Minister Nicola Willis had plenty to say when addressing the Auckland Business Chamber on the economic growth that (she tells us) is flagging more than we thought. But the government intends to put new life into it:  We want our country to be a ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • National’s clean car tax advances
    The Transport and Infrastructure Committee has reported back on the Road User Charges (Light Electric RUC Vehicles) Amendment Bill, basicly rubberstamping it. While there was widespread support among submitters for the principle that EV and PHEV drivers should pay their fair share for the roads, they also overwhelmingly disagreed with ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • Government funding bailouts
    Peter Dunne writes – This week’s government bailout – the fifth in the last eighteen months – of the financially troubled Ruapehu Alpine Lifts company would have pleased many in the central North Island ski industry. The government’s stated rationale for the $7 million funding was that it ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Two offenders, different treatments.
    See if you can spot the difference. An Iranian born female MP from a progressive party is accused of serial shoplifting. Her name is leaked to the media, which goes into a pack frenzy even before the Police launch an … Continue reading ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    4 days ago
  • Treaty references omitted
    Ele Ludemann writes  – The government is omitting general Treaty references from legislation : The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last Government in a bid to get greater coherence in the public service on Treaty ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • The Ghahraman Conflict
    What was that judge thinking? Peter Williams writes –  That Golriz Ghahraman and District Court Judge Maria Pecotic were once lawyer colleagues is incontrovertible. There is published evidence that they took at least one case to the Court of Appeal together. There was a report on ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 15
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Climate Scorpion – the sting is in the tail. Introducing planetary solvency. A paper via the University of Exeter’s Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.Local scoop: Kāinga Ora starts pulling out of its Auckland projects and selling land RNZ ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • The day Wellington up-zoned its future
    Wellington’s massively upzoned District Plan adds the opportunity for tens of thousands of new homes not just in the central city (such as these Webb St new builds) but also close to the CBD and public transport links. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Wellington gave itself the chance of ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Weekly Roundup 15-March-2024
    It’s Friday and we’re halfway through March Madness. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked how we can get better event trains and an option for grade separating Morningside Dr. On Tuesday Matt looked into ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    5 days ago
  • That Word.
    Something you might not know about me is that I’m quite a stubborn person. No, really. I don’t much care for criticism I think’s unfair or that I disagree with. Few of us do I suppose.Back when I was a drinker I’d sometimes respond defensively, even angrily. There are things ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • The Hoon around the week to March 15
    Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The five things that mattered in Aotearoa’s political economy that we wrote and spoke about via The Kākā and elsewhere for paying subscribers in the last week included:PM Christopher Luxon said the reversal of interest deductibility for landlords was done to help renters, who ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    5 days ago
  • Labour’s policy gap
    It was not so much the Labour Party but really the Chris Hipkins party yesterday at Labour’s caucus retreat in Martinborough. The former Prime Minister was more or less consistent on wealth tax, which he was at best equivocal about, and social insurance, which he was not willing to revisit. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    5 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #11 2024
    Open access notables A Glimpse into the Future: The 2023 Ocean Temperature and Sea Ice Extremes in the Context of Longer-Term Climate Change, Kuhlbrodt et al., Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society: In the year 2023, we have seen extraordinary extrema in high sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Atlantic and in ...
    5 days ago
  • Melissa remains mute on media matters but has something to say (at a sporting event) about economic ...
     Buzz from the Beehive   The text reproduced above appears on a page which records all the media statements and speeches posted on the government’s official website by Melissa Lee as Minister of Media and Communications and/or by Jenny Marcroft, her Parliamentary Under-secretary.  It can be quickly analysed ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    5 days ago
  • The return of Muldoon
    For forty years, Robert Muldoon has been a dirty word in our politics. His style of government was so repulsive and authoritarian that the backlash to it helped set and entrench our constitutional norms. His pig-headedness over forcing through Think Big eventually gave us the RMA, with its participation and ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    5 days ago
  • Will the rental tax cut improve life for renters or landlords?
    Bryce Edwards writes –  Is the new government reducing tax on rental properties to benefit landlords or to cut the cost of rents? That’s the big question this week, after Associate Finance Minister David Seymour announced on Sunday that the Government would be reversing the Labour Government’s removal ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Geoffrey Miller: What Saudi Arabia’s rapid changes mean for New Zealand
    Saudi Arabia is rarely far from the international spotlight. The war in Gaza has brought new scrutiny to Saudi plans to normalise relations with Israel, while the fifth anniversary of the controversial killing of Jamal Khashoggi was marked shortly before the war began on October 7. And as the home ...
    Democracy ProjectBy Geoffrey Miller
    5 days ago
  • Racism’s double standards
    Questions need to be asked on both sides of the world Peter Williams writes –   The NRL Judiciary hands down an eight week suspension to Sydney Roosters forward Spencer Leniu , an Auckland-born Samoan, after he calls Ezra Mam, Sydney-orn but of Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • It’s not a tax break
    Ele Ludemann writes – Contrary to what many headlines and news stories are saying, residential landlords are not getting a tax break. The government is simply restoring to them the tax deductibility of interest they had until the previous government removed it. There is no logical reason ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • The Plastic Pig Collective and Chris' Imaginary Friends.
    I can't remember when it was goodMoments of happiness in bloomMaybe I just misunderstoodAll of the love we left behindWatching our flashbacks intertwineMemories I will never findIn spite of whatever you becomeForget that reckless thing turned onI think our lives have just begunI think our lives have just begunDoes anyone ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • Who is responsible for young offenders?
    Michael Bassett writes – At first reading, a front-page story in the New Zealand Herald on 13 March was bizarre. A group of severely intellectually limited teenagers, with little understanding of the law, have been pleading to the Justice Select Committee not to pass a bill dealing with ram ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on National’s fantasy trip to La La Landlord Land
    How much political capital is Christopher Luxon willing to burn through in order to deliver his $2.9 billion gift to landlords? Evidently, Luxon is: (a) unable to cost the policy accurately. As Anna Burns-Francis pointed out to him on Breakfast TV, the original ”rock solid” $2.1 billion cost he was ...
    6 days ago
  • Bernard's Top 10 @ 10 'pick 'n' mix' for March 14
    TL;DR: My top 10 news and analysis links this morning include:Today’s must-read: Jonathon Porritt calling bullshit in his own blog post on mainstream climate science as ‘The New Denialism’.Local scoop: The Wellington City Council’s list of proposed changes to the IHP recommendations to be debated later today was leaked this ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • No, Prime Minister, rents don’t rise or fall with landlords’ costs
    TL;DR: Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said yesterday tenants should be grateful for the reinstatement of interest deductibility because landlords would pass on their lower tax costs in the form of lower rents. That would be true if landlords were regulated monopolies such as Transpower or Auckland Airport1, but they’re not, ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 days ago
  • Cartoons: ‘At least I didn’t make things awkward’
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Tom Toro Tom Toro is a cartoonist and author. He has published over 200 cartoons in The New Yorker since 2010. His cartoons appear in Playboy, the Paris Review, the New York Times, American Bystander, and elsewhere. Related: What 10 EV lovers ...
    6 days ago
  • Solving traffic congestion with Richard Prebble
    The business section of the NZ Herald is full of opinion. Among the more opinionated of all is the ex-Minister of Transport, ex-Minister of Railways, ex MP for Auckland Central (1975-93, Labour), Wellington Central (1996-99, ACT, then list-2005), ex-leader of the ACT Party, uncle to actor Antonia, the veritable granddaddy ...
    Greater AucklandBy Patrick Reynolds
    6 days ago
  • I Think I'm Done Flying Boeing
    Hi,Just quickly — I’m blown away by the stories you’ve shared with me over the last week since I put out the ‘Gary’ podcast, where I told you about the time my friend’s flatmate killed the neighbour.And you keep telling me stories — in the comments section, and in my ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    6 days ago
  • Invoking Aristotle: Of Rings of Power, Stones, and Ships
    The first season of Rings of Power was not awful. It was thoroughly underwhelming, yes, and left a lingering sense of disappointment, but it was more expensive mediocrity than catastrophe. I wrote at length about the series as it came out (see the Review section of the blog, and go ...
    6 days ago
  • Van Velden brings free-market approach to changing labour laws – but her colleagues stick to distr...
    Buzz from the Beehive Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden told Auckland Business Chamber members they were the first audience to hear her priorities as a minister in a government committed to cutting red tape and regulations. She brandished her liberalising credentials, saying Flexible labour markets are the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago
  • Why Newshub failed
    Chris Trotter writes – TO UNDERSTAND WHY NEWSHUB FAILED, it is necessary to understand how TVNZ changed. Up until 1989, the state broadcaster had been funded by a broadcasting licence fee, collected from every citizen in possession of a television set, supplemented by a relatively modest (compared ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago
  • Māori Party on the warpath against landlords and seabed miners – let’s see if mystical creature...
    Bob Edlin writes  –  The Māori Party has been busy issuing a mix of warnings and threats as its expresses its opposition to interest deductibility for landlords and the plans of seabed miners. It remains to be seen whether they  follow the example of indigenous litigants in Australia, ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    6 days ago

  • Government moves to quickly ratify the NZ-EU FTA
    "The Government is moving quickly to realise an additional $46 million in tariff savings in the EU market this season for Kiwi exporters,” Minister for Trade and Agriculture, Todd McClay says. Parliament is set, this week, to complete the final legislative processes required to bring the New Zealand – European ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 hours ago
  • Positive progress for social worker workforce
    New Zealand’s social workers are qualified, experienced, and more representative of the communities they serve, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “I want to acknowledge and applaud New Zealand’s social workers for the hard work they do, providing invaluable support for our most vulnerable. “To coincide with World ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    12 hours ago
  • Minister confirms reduced RUC rate for PHEVs
    Cabinet has agreed to a reduced road user charge (RUC) rate for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. Owners of PHEVs will be eligible for a reduced rate of $38 per 1,000km once all light electric vehicles (EVs) move into the RUC system from 1 April.  ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago
  • Trade access to overseas markets creates jobs
    Minister of Agriculture and Trade, Todd McClay, says that today’s opening of Riverland Foods manufacturing plant in Christchurch is a great example of how trade access to overseas markets creates jobs in New Zealand.  Speaking at the official opening of this state-of-the-art pet food factory the Minister noted that exports ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    14 hours ago
  • NZ and Chinese Foreign Ministers hold official talks
    Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Wellington today. “It was a pleasure to host Foreign Minister Wang Yi during his first official visit to New Zealand since 2017. Our discussions were wide-ranging and enabled engagement on many facets of New Zealand’s relationship with China, including trade, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Kāinga Ora instructed to end Sustaining Tenancies
    Kāinga Ora – Homes & Communities has been instructed to end the Sustaining Tenancies Framework and take stronger measures against persistent antisocial behaviour by tenants, says Housing Minister Chris Bishop. “Earlier today Finance Minister Nicola Willis and I sent an interim Letter of Expectations to the Board of Kāinga Ora. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber: Growth is the answer
    Tēna koutou katoa. Greetings everyone. Thank you to the Auckland Chamber of Commerce and the Honourable Simon Bridges for hosting this address today. I acknowledge the business leaders in this room, the leaders and governors, the employers, the entrepreneurs, the investors, and the wealth creators. The coalition Government shares your ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Singapore rounds out regional trip
    Minister Winston Peters completed the final leg of his visit to South and South East Asia in Singapore today, where he focused on enhancing one of New Zealand’s indispensable strategic partnerships.      “Singapore is our most important defence partner in South East Asia, our fourth-largest trading partner and a ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Minister van Velden represents New Zealand at International Democracy Summit
    Minister of Internal Affairs and Workplace Relations and Safety, Hon. Brooke van Velden, will travel to the Republic of Korea to represent New Zealand at the Third Summit for Democracy on 18 March. The summit, hosted by the Republic of Korea, was first convened by the United States in 2021, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Insurance Council of NZ Speech, 7 March 2024, Auckland
    ICNZ Speech 7 March 2024, Auckland  Acknowledgements and opening  Mōrena, ngā mihi nui. Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho.  Good morning, it’s a privilege to be here to open the ICNZ annual conference, thank you to Mark for the Mihi Whakatau  My thanks to Tim Grafton for inviting me ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Five-year anniversary of Christchurch terror attacks
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Lead Coordination Minister Judith Collins have expressed their deepest sympathy on the five-year anniversary of the Christchurch terror attacks. “March 15, 2019, was a day when families, communities and the country came together both in sorrow and solidarity,” Mr Luxon says.  “Today we pay our respects to the 51 shuhada ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024
    Speech for Financial Advice NZ Conference 5 March 2024  Acknowledgements and opening  Morena, Nga Mihi Nui.  Ko Andrew Bayly aho, Nor Whanganui aho. Thanks Nate for your Mihi Whakatau  Good morning. It’s a pleasure to formally open your conference this morning. What a lovely day in Wellington, What a great ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    4 days ago
  • Early visit to Indonesia strengthens ties
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters held discussions in Jakarta today about the future of relations between New Zealand and South East Asia’s most populous country.   “We are in Jakarta so early in our new government’s term to reflect the huge importance we place on our relationship with Indonesia and South ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • China Foreign Minister to visit
    Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters has announced that the Foreign Minister of China, Wang Yi, will visit New Zealand next week.  “We look forward to re-engaging with Foreign Minister Wang Yi and discussing the full breadth of the bilateral relationship, which is one of New Zealand’s ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Minister opens new Auckland Rail Operations Centre
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has today opened the new Auckland Rail Operations Centre, which will bring together KiwiRail, Auckland Transport, and Auckland One Rail to improve service reliability for Aucklanders. “The recent train disruptions in Auckland have highlighted how important it is KiwiRail and Auckland’s rail agencies work together to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Celebrating 10 years of Crankworx Rotorua
    The Government is proud to support the 10th edition of Crankworx Rotorua as the Crankworx World Tour returns to Rotorua from 16-24 March 2024, says Minister for Economic Development Melissa Lee.  “Over the past 10 years as Crankworx Rotorua has grown, so too have the economic and social benefits that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Government delivering on tax commitments
    Legislation implementing coalition Government tax commitments and addressing long-standing tax anomalies will be progressed in Parliament next week, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The legislation is contained in an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill issued today.  “The Amendment Paper represents ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Significant Natural Areas requirement to be suspended
    Associate Environment Minister Andrew Hoggard has today announced that the Government has agreed to suspend the requirement for councils to comply with the Significant Natural Areas (SNA) provisions of the National Policy Statement for Indigenous Biodiversity for three years, while it replaces the Resource Management Act (RMA).“As it stands, SNAs ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government classifies drought conditions in Top of the South as medium-scale adverse event
    Agriculture Minister Todd McClay has classified the drought conditions in the Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts as a medium-scale adverse event, acknowledging the challenging conditions facing farmers and growers in the district. “Parts of Marlborough, Tasman, and Nelson districts are in the grip of an intense dry spell. I know ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Government partnership to tackle $332m facial eczema problem
    The Government is helping farmers eradicate the significant impact of facial eczema (FE) in pastoral animals, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced.  “A $20 million partnership jointly funded by Beef + Lamb NZ, the Government, and the primary sector will save farmers an estimated NZD$332 million per year, and aims to ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • NZ, India chart path to enhanced relationship
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has completed a successful visit to India, saying it was an important step in taking the relationship between the two countries to the next level.   “We have laid a strong foundation for the Coalition Government’s priority of enhancing New Zealand-India relations to generate significant future benefit for both countries,” says Mr Peters, ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Ruapehu Alpine Lifts bailout the last, say Ministers
    Cabinet has agreed to provide $7 million to ensure the 2024 ski season can go ahead on the Whakapapa ski field in the central North Island but has told the operator Ruapehu Alpine Lifts it is the last financial support it will receive from taxpayers. Cabinet also agreed to provide ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Govt takes action to drive better cancer services
    Health Minister Dr Shane Reti says the launch of a new mobile breast screening unit in Counties Manukau reinforces the coalition Government’s commitment to drive better cancer services for all New Zealanders. Speaking at the launch of the new mobile clinic, Dr Reti says it’s a great example of taking ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Work begins on SH29 upgrades near Tauriko
    Unlocking economic growth and land for housing are critical elements of the Government’s plan for our transport network, and planned upgrades to State Highway 29 (SH29) near Tauriko will deliver strongly on those priorities, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “The SH29 upgrades near Tauriko will improve safety at the intersections ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Fresh produce price drop welcome
    Lower fruit and vegetable prices are welcome news for New Zealanders who have been doing it tough at the supermarket, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. Stats NZ reported today the price of fruit and vegetables has dropped 9.3 percent in the 12 months to February 2024.  “Lower fruit and vege ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Statement to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Speech to the 68th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)
    Tēnā koutou katoa and greetings to you all.  Chair, I am honoured to address the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women. I acknowledge the many crises impacting the rights of women and girls. Heightened global tensions, war, climate related and humanitarian disasters, and price inflation all ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Government backs rural led catchment projects
    The coalition Government is supporting farmers to enhance land management practices by investing $3.3 million in locally led catchment groups, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced. “Farmers and growers deliver significant prosperity for New Zealand and it’s vital their ongoing efforts to improve land management practices and water quality are supported,” ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Good evening everyone and thank you for that lovely introduction.   Thank you also to the Honourable Simon Bridges for the invitation to address your members. Since being sworn in, this coalition Government has hit the ground running with our 100-day plan, delivering the changes that New Zealanders expect of us. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Commission’s advice on ETS settings tabled
    Recommendations from the Climate Change Commission for New Zealand on the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction and unit limit settings for the next five years have been tabled in Parliament, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “The Commission provides advice on the ETS annually. This is the third time the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government lowering building costs
    The coalition Government is beginning its fight to lower building costs and reduce red tape by exempting minor building work from paying the building levy, says Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. “Currently, any building project worth $20,444 including GST or more is subject to the building levy which is ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Trustee tax change welcomed
    Proposed changes to tax legislation to prevent the over-taxation of low-earning trusts are welcome, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The changes have been recommended by Parliament’s Finance and Expenditure Committee following consideration of submissions on the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill. “One of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister’s Ramadan message
    Assalaamu alaikum. السَّلَام عليكم In light of the holy month of Ramadan, I want to extend my warmest wishes to our Muslim community in New Zealand. Ramadan is a time for spiritual reflection, renewed devotion, perseverance, generosity, and forgiveness.  It’s a time to strengthen our bonds and appreciate the diversity ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister appoints new NZTA Chair
    Former Transport Minister and CEO of the Auckland Business Chamber Hon Simon Bridges has been appointed as the new Board Chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) for a three-year term, Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced today. “Simon brings extensive experience and knowledge in transport policy and governance to the role. He will ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Speech to Life Sciences Summit
    Good morning all, it is a pleasure to be here as Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology.  It is fantastic to see how connected and collaborative the life science and biotechnology industry is here in New Zealand. I would like to thank BioTechNZ and NZTech for the invitation to address ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Progress continues apace on water storage
    Regional Development Minister Shane Jones says he is looking forward to the day when three key water projects in Northland are up and running, unlocking the full potential of land in the region. Mr Jones attended a community event at the site of the Otawere reservoir near Kerikeri on Friday. ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Government agrees to restore interest deductions
    Associate Finance Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government has agreed to restore deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties. “Help is on the way for landlords and renters alike. The Government’s restoration of interest deductibility will ease pressure on rents and simplify the tax code,” says ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Minister to attend World Anti-Doping Agency Symposium
    Sport and Recreation Minister Chris Bishop will travel to Switzerland today to attend an Executive Committee meeting and Symposium of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr Bishop will then travel on to London where he will attend a series of meetings in his capacity as Infrastructure Minister. “New Zealanders believe ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

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