Time for a Green New Deal

Written By: - Date published: 6:46 pm, November 15th, 2008 - 34 comments
Categories: climate change, economy, Environment, International, workers' rights - Tags:

With a masterful awareness of the import of his actions, President Roosevelt termed his economic program to lift the US out of the Great Depression ‘the New Deal’. Laissez-faire capitalism, whereby the ‘invisible hand of the market’ ruled, had failed to fulfil the conditions of the social contract (a fair distribution of wealth between capital and workers). A new deal was needed to restore the living conditions of workers and, ultimately, to protect capital from revolution. The New Deal replaced hands-off government with active state capitalism – the Government increased participation in the economy by investing in new sectors and job-intensive infrastructure, created better unemployment benefits, and improved regulation of financial markets. It also increased the legal powers of organised labour to put unions on a more equal footing with capital. Corporatism – active, cooperative economic management by capital, labour, and the State -was introduced. New Zealand’s First Labour Government followed the Democrat’s lead with their own program of infrastructure investment, work rights, and improved social security.

Now, we face a crisis on a similar scale to the Great Depression. Neoliberal capitalism has failed. Not only have gamblers masquerading as financiers crippled the world’s credit markets but we are hitting up against the reality that the natural resources on which we build our economy are limited and in decline. The credit meltdown, peak oil, the food crunch, and climate change all look like very different things but the problem arises from the same failed model(s) of economy management. Luckily, we can solve all these problems with the same set of solutions.

The idea of a Green New Deal is gaining momentum in political circles around the world. The United Nations Environment Program has released a template for this Green New Deal, focused on getting us off unsustainable economic practices, creating jobs, and building natural capital. It highlights five areas that we need to make centre-pieces of our economies in the 21st century:

– Clean energy and clean technologies including recycling
– Rural energy, including renewables and sustainable biomass
– Sustainable agriculture, including organic agriculture
– Ecosystem Infrastructure
– Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD)
– Sustainable cities including planning, transportation and green building

Add to that stronger workers’ rights and greater restrictions on the concentration of wealth and control of resources in a few private hands.

Luckily too, we have a leader for the times. Obama is the person with the power and vision to lead such a program, and the leadership and oratory to bring the world with him. If he fulfils his promise. We can look forward to the emergence of exciting and forward looking innovations in the coming years.

There’s no reason why the National/Act government can’t follow the same path but, unfortunately, ideology isn’t always subject to reason. With a money-man heading a government of climate change deniers, free-market radicals, and head-in-the-sand conservatives we are unlikely to see the change we need in New Zealand in the next three years.

So, the Left needs to start building its own Green New Deal plan with which to contest, and win, the 2011 election. We will be starting from behind other countries and we’ll need to hit the ground running. In the meantime, the Left parties can get elements of the program on the agenda with private members’ bills. Thought also needs to be given as to how the Left will win control of the councils in the 2010 elections – councils have a lot of control over infrastructure and urban planning, central aspect of the Green New Deal. Right now, the Left is too fractured at local level, the Left vote is split between too many disorganised candidates, allowing rightwing candidates to prevail with minority support.

The neoliberal system has failed. To protect our standards of living with we need to rebuild the foundations of the economy and ecology that underpin it. The Green New Deal is coming.

34 comments on “Time for a Green New Deal ”

  1. gingercrush 1

    And how does one make money? Looks to be a pipe dream if ever I’ve seen one.

    Right now, the Left is too fractured at local level, the Left vote is split between too many disorganised candidates, allowing rightwing candidates to prevail with minority support.

    No just the right won. Its called an election, get used to it.

    Further to that. When you have Obama still largely using the neo-liberal model of economics, one isn’t exactly going away from such ideals. Adaptive change sure. But there is no majority in this country that will ably support such strategies. You won’t even find it in Labour. And last I looked, the Greens only received 6.3%. That most certainly is a minority if I ever saw one.

  2. Byron 2

    “Luckily too, we have a leader for the times. Obama is the person with the power and vision to lead such a program”

    Reminds me of something I read on Lenins Tomb earlier today;

    “I was convinced we’d have a revolution in [the] US and I decided to be its leader and prevent it. I’m a rich man too and have run with your kind of people. I decided half a loaf was better than none – a half loaf for me and a half loaf for you and no revolution.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

    Moral of the story: if you really want Obama to be like FDR, threaten him with revolution.

    Also, I noticed Matthew Cutler-Welsh had a blog post up with the same title this morning.

    Capcha: dreadful 20
    hmmm?

  3. Ianmac 3

    gingercrush: Steve was talking about the local bodies. I don’t think the Left lost at all.

  4. gingercrush 4

    Yes I know he was talking about local bodies but really he was talking about Auckland and John Banks. Because elsewhere councils I think you will find are predominantly leftist or at the least centrist.

    Interesting stuff article there it says Obama favoured clean-coal. Last I heard that wasn’t exactly celebrated by the Greens here. Also Obama really doesn’t talk about a new Green Deal like SP describes it whatsoever. He talks about an environmental policy, something National also has. Also SP seems to imply Obama won’t follow neo-liberal ideas and won’t be a market driven person.But that doesn’t stack up. In fact you’ll find the hard left such as travellerev even agree with me on this. Obama and John Key aren’t that different. And if your great hope is that Obama leads such areas, you’re sadly mistaken.

  5. rave 5

    SP:

    FDR was a corporatist, correct. But as the quote cited by Byron above makes clear, FDR brought the unions into a ‘new deal’ with the bosses and state to stop a revolution threatening the rule of capital.

    If this had not worked then FDR would have moved in the direction of Italian corporatism or German fascism using the powers of the Executive to suspend Congress.

    In his first inaugural he said:

    “…if we are to go forward, we must move as a trained and loyal army willing to sacrifice for the good of a common discipline, because without such discipline no progress is made, no leadership becomes effective. We are, I know, ready and willing to submit our lives and property to such discipline, because it makes possible a leadership which aims at a larger good… I assume unhesitatingly the leadership of this great army of our people dedicated to a disciplined attack upon our common problems….in the event that the Congress shall fail to take one of these two courses, and in the event that the national emergency is still critical, I shall not evade the clear course of duty that will then confront me. I shall ask the Congress for… the power that would be given to me if we were in fact invaded by a foreign foe.”

    In other words, if we aim at a “Green New Deal” we are inviting such an anti-worker dictatorship to come down on the heads of workers.

    We should aim higher: “For a Socialist Republic” based on organising fighting, democratic unions and a program that includes much of the ‘new deal’ legislation to create decent jobs and a living wage, but recognising that to enact such legislation we would need to spring the trap of the ‘new deal’ and take over the banks and monopolies under workers control.

    If it is good enough for FDR to take war time powers to discipline the working class under the iron heel of capital, then it is necessary for workers to propose the concentration of power in their own hands.

  6. Pascal's bookie 6

    I’m not convinced you know what neo liberalism is ginger. nor am I convinced you understand what his ‘environmental policy’ would mean in practice. So I’d hold back on the ‘sadly mistaken’ talk unless you are really sure you know what you are talking about.

  7. obama and key are completely different. in every aspect they move in opposite directions.

    as for ‘national has an environmental policy too’ nonsense. The US has a defence policy, so does Switzerland, doesn’t mean they are anything alike.

    The Green New Deal concept is not just an environmental policy, it’s an economy policy focused on sustainability. You’ll find that Obama has been talking about the need to move to a sustainable economy (and yes that would have to include clean coal in the medium term in countries like the US that get more of their power from coal).

    I wasn’t taking about Banks, I was talking generally. In Wellington, for example, the left candidates won 25000 ‘1’ rankings between the 6 of them, three of them ‘serious’ candidates, whereas the Right got 24,000 between 3 candidates, only one of them serious – Prendergast, who won at a canter. If Pepperall and Ritchie, and the others, had put themselves behind Ahipene-Mercer, we would have an environmentalist mayor, not a rightwing wife of a property developer.

  8. gingercrush 8

    And isn’t it strange how the right wing of America far more conservative than the left wing also speak of sustainability. Indeed you’ll find the right wing of American politics are most intrigued by it. Now yes their main issue is to no longer be dependent on foreign oil but the concept is the same.

    You continue to talk about Obama no longer following a neo-liberal line, that is nonsense. Obama’s messages are of hope and a greater future but that does not mean he is following any workers revolution. Nor does it mention a view to environmentalism as a way for American’s economic policy to follow. Such an idea is absurdist at best. Its not even possible in America’s Federal system. There is still no evidence provided pointing to Obama economic policy has a focus on sustainability.

    On his environmental policy platform Obama speaks of the creation of new jobs in Green Energy etc. And yet its written vaguely lacking any amount of detail. In fact it rather reminds me of National’s messages. But wait a minute you have the nerve to attack National for lacking policy and yet here Obama does the same thing and you are silent?

    More to the point, Obama never emphasized his green policies. They may be there in policy but they were never his main focus during the campaign or since. Yet you seem to hold him in such high regard and yet not willing to give John Key a chance whatsoever? Your first instance is to attack John Key for everything and anything.

    If you accuse John Key of offering too much and of making too many promises. Surely that same principle must also be applied to Obama. Unless, of course you’re so taken in with his policies that share shall we say, your views. But his plans are even more ambitious than Keys and yet you still say Key offered too much. Does Obama have any greater mandate than John Key? Well yes because of America’s electoral system. But if John Key is under pressure by the left. Then Obama must surely be pressured not only by the right, but with the centre and largely the left as well.

    The people here at The Standard criticise everything John Key does and you all point to him not willing to do anything. And yet Obama has that same vagueness as Key if not more vague. At least with New Zealand’s system of governance it is possible. The way America works is quite different. Their system prevents change, New Zealand welcomes change. Where those who hold power can make swift changes. America is stuck with having to work with two parliaments.

    Further, people in New Zealand don’t share the green policy thoughts nor was there much mention of sustainability by Labour itself. Here in New Zealand the Greens offer such a platform. But at best they can garner 6.3% of the vote. Surely not a mandate by New Zealanders for us to go in such an area.

    The fact New Zealand industries are agriculture, dairying, forestry, seafood and Tourism. Those are out main industries and what we export. All those would surely be damaged in such a plan. So do you really want to kill what we export so we end up exporting nothing. Or do you expect some miracle to happen and suddenly though being environmentally friendly we’ll become rich? I’m afraid such thought tends to be nonsense and cannot be applicable here or anywhere else.

  9. Pascal's bookie 9

    Here’s that far leftist radical moonbat Joe Klein, writing for that fringe samizdat publication Time magazine about Obama’s neo liberal environmental policy

  10. Pascal's bookie 10

    “Indeed you’ll find the right wing of American politics are most intrigued by it. Now yes their main issue is to no longer be dependent on foreign oil but the concept is the same.”

    “Drill baby drill “? Is that how it went?

  11. randal 11

    ginggacrunch looks to be another ct spammer filling up space with stuff that looks intelligent but after one tries to read it then finding it to be mindless mush
    go away willya
    not are you on the downside of the bellcurve but you are also in the place where the crack is

  12. gingercrush 12

    The word, “radical” is meaningless and rarely applies to anyone. Also please don’t sound like Fox News its scary. I read the article. Interesting but the message boards I’ve been going to (most of whom heavily favoured Obama), environmentalism rarely got discussed. They talked about taxes but nothing in regards to his environment and economic plans. In fact there must be something about discussions in regards to American politics, in that policy is never discussed. We think we’re bad here but in comparison to American politics, at least policy gets discussed.

    But I’m not talking about this Green New Deal. So back on point, yes Obama mentions it. But this very crisis and the nature of politics in America tells me that his chances are unlikely. I studied American politics and change is America happens very slowly. In fact the systems is set up largely to prevent change. So if somehow this becomes his top priority (I doubt it is), even then the system in America is largely going to prevent it. The only advantage he may have is that both the Senate and house have majority of Democrats. But still even then, each of them have a single vote on everything so it would only take a few who either don’t see it going far enough or see it going too far and suddenly it is stopped. That is going to be his challenge.

    Do you really think had it been Labour in office that this so-called Green New Deal would be a reality here either? Yes they’d have to depend on the Greens but I can hardly see Clark ever wanting to go that far.

    —-

    And surely rather than saying: So, the Left needs to start building its own Green New Deal plan with which to contest, and win, the 2011 election.

    Wouldn’t it be best first for Labour to adopt this, since their election promises certainly never had anything like this. And I doubt Goff and King are in a position to be willing to adopt such ideals either.

    Good luck convincing the left. It has some validity but doesn’t actually point to how the deal creates job or even makes money. Economics is the most important aspect of any policy. Unless you can make a case economically it isn’t going to happen.

    —-
    randal before attacking others perhaps you should have a hard look at yourself. It isn’t pretty.

  13. randal 13

    LPRENT
    gigacrucnh is spamming again
    writing meaningless diatribes that have no intellectual content

  14. gingercrush 14

    That’s fine randal. The left have all those intellectuals and they lost. Tis a pity.

  15. Camryn 15

    Use of the word corporatism re: New Deal is interesting. Luckily, there’s a wikipedia article on exactly that: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_Deal_and_corporatism

  16. Pascal's bookie 16

    “The word, “radical’ is meaningless and rarely applies to anyone.”

    If it’s meaningless then it could apply to everything or nothing actually, but it’s not meaningless (what a stupid thing to say). It certainly doesn’t apply to Joe white bread Klein though. As you are a student of America, I would have thought that you might have picked up that pretty obvious clue ginger. Next you’ll be telling me that Time magazine isn’t a fringe samizdat forum of agitprop for anarcho syndicalyst revolutionary thought.

    Care to tell me what you think neoliberalism is, and which policies of Obama are neoliberal?

  17. randal 17

    well its not really fine gineercruch
    if it was fine then the left would have the same freedom you enjoy here on kiwiblag and whale oil which they do not
    the assymetry is jarringly obvious but to you and your ilk thats ok because at heart you are bullies so if you think it is fine then there is something wrong with you r basic concept of fairness

  18. Bill 18

    gingercrush

    I agree with your basic thrust that Obama is just another from the same basic mould as previous US presidents. Sections of he Left in the US appear to be aware of this and are attempting to generate a mass grass roots campaign/movement that will pressure him to follow through on the hope he has generated.

    http://www.johnpilger.com/page.asp?partid=511

    http://www.zcommunications.org/znet/viewArticle/19595

    (The top link was the wrong one, but it’s a goodie, so I’ll leave it…)

    To others on this thread on the matter of a ‘Green Deal’ gaining prominence in NZ by 2011, I think there may well be a different battle to be fought, one more crucial to our everyday life’s if Gordon Campbell’s piece over at Scoop is at all accurate. Sorry to paste such a lengthy quote from that article below, but the implications are, IMO enormous.

    Briefly. When the state takes care of social provisions it is nominally accountable insofar as a government running unpopular policies can be voted out at the end of the election cycle. When a corporate is given cash and targets to deal with social provisions there is no accountability. I’m not going to state what corporate welfarism is ’cause I want to avoid moderation….just think of a certain Italian gentleman from the ’30s.

    “Under the Bush administration, the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives ( led by its director Jay Hein) sought to promote and to expand public-private partnerships with frontline nonprofit organizations, to more effectively address “community challenges.’

    In the New Zealand context, a more active role for the state in faith based welfare delivery would open up fertile ground for National within Maori and Pacific Island communities that are both heavily dependent on welfare, and widely unsympathetic to some ( but not all ) of the secular civil rights issues that have been promoted in recent decades by the centre left.

    That process is already well underway. A few months ago, Key had begun discussing the potential for a highly centralized, ” super contractor’ model of welfare delivery in New Zealand. To that end, discussions were held mid year between the National Party and representatives of the Mission Australia organization – a huge church-based provider of family, community and employment services across the Tasman, with an annual turnover of some $A250 million”

    http://election08.scoop.co.nz/gordon-campbell-on-the-new-breed-of-conservatives/

    We already have one faith based provider in the shape of the Salvation Army and Drug and Alcohol treatment. No other provider can get a look in, in that area ’cause all the funding is tied up. Importantly, in my mind, if you want on a programme to get off drugs you have to accept or succumb to the concept of ‘A Higher Power’ in order to undertake the 12 step programme. That trips a lot of addicts up and leaves them at square one or going it alone.

  19. gingercrush 19

    Care to tell me what part of Obama’s policies are not neo-liberal?

    I’m not even sure why we’re having this argument. Obama is a neo-iliberalist just like Cullen and Clark were neo-liberalist. The old rhetoric of neo-liberalism does not apply anymore because over time the extremes of neo-liberalism, those being the opening up of all markets, the selling off of public assets, rampant welfare reforms and non-investment in private businesses have stopped and was adapted. So the basic essence of neo-liberalism exists but the extreme aspects have stopped. Can one be a neo-liberal and still have strong environmental policies. Of course. Neo-liberalism is thought process very open to change and adaptation. It can be adapted to foreign policy, environmental policy, education etc etc.

    You can still be Green and be neoliberal. There is no crime in that. You can still engage in this so called Green New Deal and have a system set up neo-liberally. So I ask again, why are we even arguing over this?

  20. rave 20

    Bill:
    Destiny Church as the highest form of faith based provider?
    Or would that be the Maori Party?
    The missionaries are still pointing to heaven.

    randall:
    I loved the image of Ginger on the left of the bell curve falling into the crack.
    That explains the hollow echo.

  21. Quoth the Raven 21

    Indeed you’ll find the right wing of American politics are most intrigued by it.
    Yes they are intrigued by these quaint notions that the plebs have thought of in their squirrelly little minds.

    Here’s Obama’s bit on energy and environment. Pray tell us in your infinite wisdom what part of it is neo-liberal and similar to National.

  22. Bill 22

    rave.

    Parents Inc https://www.parentsinc.org.nz/home/ Corporatism with a colgate smile. Although that guy from Destiny (mental blank) does have a pretty bright smile. John’s is nice too apparently. Yep. The smiles have it.

    “The missionaries are still pointing to heaven.” That would be towards the pie in the sky you get when you die?

    ON FDR and the New Deal. According to research done by MIT economist E. Cary Brown, there was no massive investment made as part of the New Deal. http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/11/10/news/edkrugman.php

    So equating a Green Deal with the New Deal doesn’t carry.

  23. gingercrush 23

    http://www.barackobama.com/issues/economy/ – And what part of this isn’t neo-liberalist?

    http://www.barackobama.com/taxes/ – What isn’t neo-liberalist?

    http://www.barackobama.com/issues/fiscal/ – I think you’ll find this is relevant neo-liberal thinking.

  24. randal 24

    yes well neo liberal THINKING is not going to pay the food and electricity bills and the school fees and buy shoes for the kids after the user pays manques have taken as much money as they can
    thinking does not pay bills

  25. gingercrush 25

    What are you talking about randal. They’re saying Obama policies aren’t neo-liberal when its evident that they are. User pay already and will continue to exist in the United States. Unless of course you think Obama said he would stop user pays. Which he hasn’t.

  26. Quoth the Raven 26

    We were talking about the environment. Maybe you’re confused by what neo-liberalism is. As to the environment what I’m seeing is more taxes not less. I’m seeing more regulation not less. I’m seeing greater government spending in that area not less. I’m just seeing plain greater government intervention fullstop. So i ask you agian what part of that is neo-liberal. You’re a classic right winger avoiding the question.
    Did you look at their union plans. They are diametrically opposed to what National is doing in this area. Read what he’s doing.

  27. gingercrush 27

    And you avoid my point completely in that the basis for neo-liberalism takes place in regards to economics and taxation. Then is adapted to other areas. Take a look at Obama’s policies in regards to economics and taxation. They’re largely neo-liberal.

    Also you could take all of National’s policies on Energy and the environment and its not exactly awash in neo-liberalism either.

  28. Quoth the Raven 28

    http://www.barackobama.com/issues/economy/ – And what part of this isn’t neo-liberalist?
    Well I’ve had a read which I think you didn’t.
    Ensure Freedom to Unionize
    Fight Attacks on Workers’ Right to Organize
    Protect Striking Workers
    Raise the Minimum Wage
    Restriction on unions was one of the pillars of Thatcher and Reagan and our own National party.
    Enact a Windfall Profits Tax to Provide a $1,000 Emergency Energy Rebate to American Families
    End Tax Breaks for Companies that Send Jobs Overseas
    Reverse Bush Tax Cuts for the Wealthy
    What’s neo-liberal about that?
    Right through this I’m seeing more regulation and intervention.
    As to the taxes you could hardly call it flat could you.
    This is what neo-liberalism is about. The onus is on you to explain why this is all neo-liberal. You’ve just made the claim and haven’t backed it up with anything. Sorry if this comment is a dupicate captcha is giving me trouble.

    [lprent: The base problem was that you were using raw links and getting caught by the spam trap. Have a look at this link]

  29. Steve. I try to explain some of what’s wrong with your understanding of the Great Depression here.

  30. TimeWarp 30

    Nat/ACT announced their agreement today. We could have three years trapped on the planet of the damned, and the arguments are about who understands neoliberalism, and what it might be?

    Dead men walkin’…. we got dead men walkin’ here..

  31. Pascal's bookie 31

    As QtR points out ginger, much of what Obama is talking about is decidedly not neo liberal.

    Neo lib’s believe in flat taxes. Obama is raising taxes on the wealthy and cutting them for the middle class to make the system more progressive. That is exactly what neo-liberals set out to eliminate. You seem to think that unless one is a communist, or unless one rules out any role for markets then one is a neo liberal. That just robs the term of any meaning. Keynes believed in markets, was in no way a communist, and is one of the guys whose ideas the neo liberals were a reaction against.

    If you are a keyensian, you are not a neo liberal. Simple as that really. If you believe in progressive taxation, you are not a neo liberal. If you believe in redistribution, you are not a neoliberal

    Read about Obama’s environmental policy. All those tax breaks for certain things, not neo liberal. Neo libs hate that shit. Let the market decide without the government picking winners, that is what neo liberalism is about.

    Neo Liberals believe in supply side economics, Obama is talking about stimulating demand. That’s heresy to a neo liberal.

  32. rave 32

    Paul Walker:

    Just goes to show that FDRs intention was to prevent the worst excesses of competition from creating deflationary conditions that would end in a workers revolution. He succeeded and the price paid by the monopoly capitalists was a little bit more monopoly.

    Such ingratitude.

    All the more reason why the unions should not have been fooled by these so-called reforms, and organise for their own plan, not just regulation of monopoly but nationalisation of monopolies under workers control.

  33. Macro 33

    I think JK and RH have quite a different mindset on this Steve 🙁

  34. rave 34

    A good article on the New Deal as ‘safety valve’

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    Don’t expect any fiscal shocks or surprises when the books are opened on December 20 with the unveiling of the Half Yearly Economic and Fiscal Update (HYEFU). That was the message yesterday from Westpac in an economic commentary. But the bank’s analysis did not include any changes to capital ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #49 2023
    113 articles in 48 journals by 674 contributing authors Physical science of climate change, effects Diversity of Lagged Relationships in Global Means of Surface Temperatures and Radiative Budgets for CMIP6 piControl Simulations, Tsuchida et al., Journal of Climate 10.1175/jcli-d-23-0045.1 Do abrupt cryosphere events in High Mountain Asia indicate earlier tipping ...
    2 days ago
  • Phone calls at Kia Kaha primary
    It is quiet reading time in Room 13! It is so quiet you can hear the Tui outside. It is so quiet you can hear the Fulton Hogan crew.It is so quiet you can hear old Mr Grant and old Mr Bradbury standing by the roadworks and counting the conesand going on ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • A question of confidence is raised by the Minister of Police, but he had to be questioned by RNZ to ...
    It looks like the new ministerial press secretaries have quickly learned the art of camouflaging exactly what their ministers are saying – or, at least, of keeping the hard news  out of the headlines and/or the opening sentences of the statements they post on the home page of the governments ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Xmas  good  cheer  for the dairy industry  as Fonterra lifts its forecast
    The big dairy co-op Fonterra  had  some Christmas  cheer to offer  its farmers this week, increasing its forecast farmgate milk price and earnings guidance for  the year after what it calls a strong start to the year. The forecast  midpoint for the 2023/24 season is up 25cs to $7.50 per ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    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 ...
    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. ...
    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
    4 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
    4 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 ...
    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 ...
    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
    5 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
    5 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
    5 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 ...
    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 ...
    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 ...
    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 ...
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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 ...
    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 ...
    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 ...
    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
    1 week 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 ...
    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
    3 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
    3 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
    3 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
    4 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
    6 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
    6 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
    6 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
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  • Coalition Government unveils 100-day plan
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