Time to wake up to the Electricity Authority

Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, May 29th, 2016 - 46 comments
Categories: capitalism, class war, discrimination, Economy, energy - Tags:

Electricity Authority website

In June there are workshops being held about the Electricity Authority’s transmission pricing proposal. Yawn, perhaps, until you get the power bill.

Check the relevant dates in the link, and show you can attend by confirming to this email address.

They will of course be expecting just the Usual Suspects to turn up like the Major Electricity Users Association, the key investors in electricity generation, and of course staff of the generators themselves.

The Authority has been quite smart by publicising their forecasts that some regions will do great with charging decreases, but Auckland gets it in the neck. They don’t tell you whether a single consumer will notice any difference in their power bills, once the local utilities and lines companies fiddle with their billing. They don’t tell you if they have a functioning mechanism for holding the billing of lines companies to account. They should.

The Electricity Authority claims in their forecasts that Invercargill’s charges will go down $64, but Ashburton’s will go up between $102 and $117, for example. The Chief Executive of the Electricity Authority, Carl Hansen, said the regions seeing an increase were those that had benefited from substantial recent grid upgrades, or where transmission prices had been lower than average.

He forgot to tell you how much lee-way the big users are going to get, with great sweetener deals for businesses like Rio Tinto Aluminium in Bluff. They can apply for more “relief” on top of the $21 million of grid costs they are already ducking. Prior to listing on the stock exchange, Meridian just sucked that up.

In the south of Auckland, New Zealand Steel faces a 263% increase in its grid charges. Guaranteed they will also get “relief”. If you’ve ever been there, it’s a small town. Also Oji Fibre Solutions (formerly Carter Holt Harvey). Also Whangarei’s New Zealand Refining.

And wait there’s more.

The Authority is also proposing to remove all special pricing arrangements for small solar and wind generators who link to a local lines network, rather than the national lines network. That will become a significant disincentive for small-scale sustainable generators. Meaning, the big corporate generators capture more of the market and the smaller ones get less of a chance. Community-initiated generation proposals like Dunedin’s Blueskin Bay get that much harder.

I’m not for a moment saying that the Authority is biased against citizens or communities. I’m definitely not saying that by publishing forecast savings by region they are playing a nasty divide-and rule game. I am saying that the Electricity Authority should be able to easily demonstrate to citizens their legislated task to run and price a national grid within national interest tests.

But perhaps it is time for citizens to turn up to these Electricity Authority briefings and not leave this stuff to the usual black suits, specialist consultants, asset management planners, and the like.

This review started nine years ago. For my ten cents, the Electricity Authority doesn’t demonstrate to citizens that it has value being placed outside of Ministerial Authority. It takes too long, worships fat corporations, doesn’t listen to citizens, and hasn’t made a peep about changing our generator mix away from coal and moving to 100% sustainable generation. Time to run the grid from a person who faces consumer pressure every day, amplified through the media: a Minister.

Maybe the Salvation Army would like to turn up to these briefings, or some of the unions, or some NGOs who stick up for the poor and homeless and cold.

Read up from their site, turn up, and let the Electricity Authority hear from citizens.

46 comments on “Time to wake up to the Electricity Authority ”

  1. save nz 1

    Great post! Of course the poor and middle NZ should pay more for electricity, while corporations which are increasingly based owned offshore should get tax relief – that’s National policy! sarc.

    As for solar, it is all about keeping the old polluting systems going, and just fudging our climate change and environmental targets…. more National policy.

    • Richard Christie 1.1

      +100%

    • Chooky 1.2

      +100 Good Post !…the Left Opposition coalition should be hammering this!

    • Richard@Down South 1.3

      I think power is too expensive atm… but then, we in Invercargill pay more than those in the North Island when more power is generated closer to us and sent north…

      Rio Tinto shouldnt get a subsidy….

  2. ianmac 2

    “…but Ashburton’s will go up between $102 and $117,”
    There are some regions where the electricity charges are remarkably low. Maybe Ashburton is one of those and would be playing catchup with their neighbours.
    It is unique among New Zealand electricity distribution companies in that it is the only company that is a cooperative…”
    Cannot find out what Ashburton’s charges are though.

    • Gristle 2.1

      Electricity Asburton is run by a community owned Trust. So is its neighbour Alpine Network and Network Waitaki, and so is Unison and …… There is a really long list of “co-ops.” These are all rejections of the reforms that Max Bradford foisted on NZ. Some communities gave the fingers to Max and the Enron boys and would not sell networks to corporate interests.

      The EAs approach to grid charges has been to try and put cost of the grid to the consumers who use it. Tiwai Point doesn’t use much grid so it’s charges go down. Just like North Otago. All those big hydro stations just a stones throw away would see North Otago prices go down. (I am not kidding about the stone throw. Two of the three GXPs could be covered by a good underarm from one of the Chappel brothers.) But unfortunately the charges don’t go down they go up. Transpower charges to North Otago go up.

      So two years ago the North Otago Transpower charges went up by $700,000 to account for grid development to support Auckland. Now they are going up by another $300,000 per annum because North Otago doesn’t have to support Auckland.

      • Ad 2.1.1

        Seems incredible that the Authority can’t balance this out better. Prior to Bradford there were supposed to be massive local benefits to consumers. Great to be reminded of the remaining local trusts.

      • Draco T Bastard 2.1.2

        So two years ago the North Otago Transpower charges went up by $700,000 to account for grid development to support Auckland.

        [citation needed]

        • Gristle 2.1.2.1

          Sorry cannot find a news report to back this up. The information came from discussion the Graham Clark the CEO of Network Waitaki Limited which occurred in 2014.

          • Draco T Bastard 2.1.2.1.1

            See, time and time again we get people from outside of Auckland blaming Auckland for the high prices and that they’re paying for Auckland in some way. But when the numbers are actually looked at it turns out that Auckland is actually subsiding them.

            It seems like a common fallacy and this just sounds like another instance of it.

            • Poission 2.1.2.1.1.1

              how many power stations in auckland or northland? its an obvious problem.

            • Gristle 2.1.2.1.1.2

              See, time and and time again we get people from inside of Auckland denying that at times they get carried by the rest of NZ.

              DTB, a conversation can be cited as evidence, and if you choose not to believe me when I provide a real persons name who is the head of the company then I take from that you have a very low level of trust.

              If you look at http://www.networkwaitaki.co.nz/Schedule_of_Charge_to_apply_from_01-04-16.pdf

              And in the previous year you will see consistent high increases by Transpower for grid charges that exceed the rate of increase for NWL’s own network. The work that Transpower has been doing over the last 5 years has been focussed on:
              1. Beefing up from the Waikato to Auckland
              2. Putting Pole 2 in for the DC link from Benmore to Wellington

              And all the other Networks/consumers have had to pay for it.

              Networks like Top Energy and Tasman Networks have been buying sections of the Transpower grid to get out of Transpower using those assets to lever yet further money from the more remote lines companies.

              One can understand why there is a section of South Islanders keen to become a state of Austrailia. I believe that Tasmania is fully supportive of this as it will promote them from being the butt of intra-Australian jokes,

              • Draco T Bastard

                and if you choose not to believe me when I provide a real persons name who is the head of the company then I take from that you have a very low level of trust.

                And why would I trust someone who’s position is there to justify price increases? Especially after we get shit like this?

                Telecom’s public image may take another hit as an audio clip of Theresa Gattung circulating on the internet has the chief executive admitting to the company “not being straight up” with customers.

                “Think about pricing. What has every telco in the world done in the past? It’s used confusion as its chief marketing tool. And that’s fine,” said Gattung in a speech recorded on March 20.

                Businesses do have a tendency to lie to us.

                Transpower has been doing over the last 5 years has been focussed on:

                And where were they working before that? And where are they going to be working next?

                It’s the nature of physical networks and labour availability. The network crosses the entirety on the country but they don’t work on the whole thing the entire time. They work on sections of it moving their workers around as needed.

                And as I said up thread. We get people from outside of Auckland complaining about how they’re subsidising Auckland but when we follow the money it turns out that it’s Auckland subsidising them. That figure is $1 billion per year going from Auckland to the rest of the country and that’s just in taxes.

                I have no problems with that happening. In a society there’s going to be cross subsidies happening all the time that simply can’t be helped.

                No, what pisses me off is people outside of Auckland complaining that they’re subsidising Auckland when it simply isn’t true. So, yeah, I’m doubtful about this one being true.

                • Poission

                  Think about pricing. What has every telco in the world done in the past? It’s used confusion as its chief marketing tool. And that’s fine,” said Gattung in a speech recorded on March 20.

                  Prediction 42 (The Dilbert future) 1998

                  In the future,all barriers to entry will go way and companies will be forced to form confusopolies

                  definition – A group of companies with similar products who intentionally confuse customers instead of competing on price.

                  eg Insurance,mortgage loans,banking, telco ,financial services

      • millsy 2.1.3

        Actually the trusts were created before the Bradford reforms, which by the way, stopped them from expanding (a move repealed by Labour V).

        Labour IV and National IV wanted to sell the power boards but they realised that they didnt actually own them (they owned themselves), so the consumer trusts were created on the assuptions that they would sell the lines companies. Most, didnt.

      • Corokia 2.1.4

        I heard on RNZ when this was 1st reported that the increase in Ashburton was due to the power and infrastructure needed to run the irrigation schemes there. I expect the same would apply to North Otago.
        It would be grossly unfair if residents in towns in intensive dairying areas are made to pay more because local farmers have big irrigation schemes, but I guess that’s what you get with National’s love affair with dairy.

        • Gristle 2.1.4.1

          The point is you need Transpower’s grid to transport from the dams to the local network. The dams on the Waitaki River are in the Network Waitaki area. Transpower’s grid in two cases is about 75 metres (not kilometres) long.

          There is more than enough generating capacity available in our backyard so it is sent north and across into the North Island.

          The amount of new load brought on in the North Otago area has been about 10MWatts of peak load over the last five years. Most of this has come from irrigation systems or dairy sheds. This is load is next to nothing given the amount of electricity sent out of Otago to the north.

          I don’t know about Ashburton. But saying that price increases are due to irrigation seems simplistic. Most lines companies have a large component of variable income, and so they tend to make out like bandits when a lot of energy is transported. My thought would be that for lines companies there would be an opportunity to average down prices as largely under-utilised assets carry more load.

        • Gristle 2.1.4.2

          The point is you need Transpower’s grid to transport from the dams to the local network. The dams on the Waitaki River are in the Network Waitaki area. Transpower’s grid in two cases is about 75 metres (not kilometres) long.

          There is more than enough generating capacity available in our backyard so it is sent north and across into the North Island.

          The amount of new load brought on in the North Otago area has been about 10MWatts of peak load over the last five years. Most of this has come from irrigation systems or dairy sheds. This is load is next to nothing given the amount of electricity sent out of Otago to the north.

          I don’t know about Ashburton. But saying that price increases are due to irrigation seems simplistic. Most lines companies have a large component of variable income, and so they tend to make out like bandits when a lot of energy is transported. My thought would be that for lines companies there would be an opportunity to average down prices as largely under-utilised assets carry more load.

  3. Alfie 3

    The EA workshops are being held in Akl, Wgtn, ChCh and Invercargill. Are they deliberately avoiding Dunedin? I’ll bet there would be quite a few people from the Blueskin Bay area who’d be keen to voice their opinions on the Authority’s lack of support for renewable energy.

    But then who needs democracy? It’s such an overrated system which only gets in the way of unfettered corporate profits.

  4. red-blooded 4

    “Community-initiated generation proposals like Dunedin’s Blueskin Bay get that much harder.”

    Not a great example. This proposal would see wind turbines attached to a small outcrop of unstable rock, with aquifers running through it that feed all the local water sources. It’s also right on the coastline, the habitat of numerous at-risk bird species like NZ falcons. The DOC report into wind generation recommends that any turbines should be at least 50 km from the coast. And as for being “community-initiated”? The council has already ruled that this is not the case; the proposal does not arise from a community group and it does not bring benefit to the local community. In fact, the community are very much opposed. Nimbyism, I hear you say? Perhaps, to some extent, but there’s also a lot of concern about environmental impact.

    Oh, and Blueskin Bay is where the proposers live, but it’s not where the proposed site is. A bit of nimbyism going on there, too, perhaps.

    (ps, I don’t live anywhere near this site, but I’ve heard the arguments from both sides and read a lot of the documentation, and the DOC report into wind farms. I’m not anti-wind generation, but I do think sites need to be carefully chosen and issues like bird strike are relevant.)

    • Ad 4.1

      I did not state that the community universally supported it. Obviously they don’t.

      If the Council decision goes against the initiative, I’d be happy to donate to an appeal.

      Electricity generation should not be the preserve of the corporatised few or the individual who seeks to withdraw entirely. That’s what the Authority should encourage: greater competition at all levels of generation.

    • ianmac 4.2

      Does it mean that if Blueskin went ahead, the consumers would have to pay a premium just to stay on the grid? The more you do for self-sufficiency the more that Transpower wants to charge.

    • Draco T Bastard 4.3

      and the DOC report into wind farms.

      This one? Where it says:

      The impacts of wind farms on New Zealand bird species and populations are unknown. This document reviews available literature on the impacts of onshore wind farms on birds, based on studies in other countries.

      The very first sentence tells us that they don’t know. The second that they’re basing their entire report on offshore studies. And what do those offshore studies find?

      In the end, using 58 mortality estimates that met their criteria, they came up with an estimate. According to the current literature somewhere between 140,000 and 328,000 birds die each year from collisions with wind turbines.

      Sounds like a lot but that’s across all of the US. To put that number into perspective:

      Besides habitat degradation and destruction, the top human-built environmental threat to our feathered friends are buildings. As many as 970 million birds crash into them annually, according to a June 2013 study in the Wilson Journal of Ornithology. Other studies, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), estimate that every year as many as 175 million birds die by flying into power lines, which electrocute tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands more; 72 million are poisoned by misapplied pesticides; nearly 6.6 million perish by hitting communications towers; and as many as 1 million birds die in oil and gas industry fluid waste pits.

      Our houses are more of a threat.

      That said, I think that wind-farms need to be offshore. Not because of the danger to birds but because of the better wind. The fact that it’s also more environmentally friendly in many ways is a fortunate coincidence.

    • weka 4.4

      I have some concerns about how the project is being developped myself, whilst at the same time supporting small, community farms over thing big commerical projects for private companies.

      Did DOC comment on the Blueskin project itself?

      From my reading of the material available online, it’s pretty clear that this IS a community initiated project. Why do you think it’s not? I know that there is difference of opinion about the project in those coastal Otago communities, but that’s not the same as it not being a community based project.

      • Lulu 4.4.1

        It depends on your definition of community.
        I understand the scheme was conceived as a community scheme in the sense that the community around the wind turbines would own the plant, consume the output and, to the extent the output matched their consumption, they would offset purchasing generation from elsewhere through a retailer.
        I understand it has morphed into a scheme where an externally located generator with shareholders unconnected to this community would establish the generation plant. That party would generate and sell the output to whoever they can get a profit from including potential retail deals with residents of the Blueskin Bay community or thereabouts. The only financial benefits back to the community would be via profits if members of the community are shareholders of the scheme or through discounted retail prices back to the community but I don’t know whether that is proposed or not.
        None of these financial arrangements are relevant for the consenting process and the generator who I understand will be running the project and would trade the output is very quiet. To my knowledge the model of investment, ownership and beneficiaries (dividends or electricity tariffs) is not revealed to the public so it is not possible to conclude that this scheme is a community scheme in the original sense.
        I would love to know what the model is. For the moment the only community involvement I can see from outside is support for the consent and willingness to support the generator so the scheme goes ahead and its supporters can feel good about the environment.
        Very happy to be clarified or corrected.

        • weka 4.4.1.1

          hmm, I’m not sure about that.

          Here’s what I understand (from the project’s websites).

          1. The community came together to talk about the project.

          2. A trust was set up.

          3. The Trust is a registered charity.

          4. The trustees are all from the Blueskin Bay area.

          5. The Trust set up the Company, which is a social enterprise. At least two of the directors of that company live in the area, and the Company is based there. They also use volunteers from the community.

          6. The Company receives money from investors.

          7. The investment money is used to build the windfarm.

          8. The Company sells the electricity.

          9. The money from that comes back to the Company.

          10. The Company pay money to the investors and to the Trust.

          11. The Trust uses the money in the community.

          That all looks pretty straight forward and reasonable to me. It also means that there is a direct line of profit back to the community.

          I guess if I lived there I would want to know more detail eg how the profits are split between the community and the investors. Both the Trust and the Company have documents online that probably answer questions about how the details work (I don’t have time to read through them all). It might be easier to ask the people involved directly. I can’t see anything on the face of that makes me think they are doing something that’s not community based.

          The Charities register doesn’t appear to use permanent URLs, so here’s what I think is the founding document (PDF?). You can search the register for BLUESKIN RESILIENT COMMUNITIES TRUST to get all the documents.

          http://www.societies.govt.nz/pls/web/DBSIFRAME.I_Init?p_access_no=B98491B6C388C3F0E428FFD994B96C2F&p_receipt_number=11747364&p_sequence_number=1&p_reference_number=2178117&p_called_from=ALLTAB|doc1

          Blueskin Energy Ltd, including their constitution,

          https://www.business.govt.nz/companies/app/ui/pages/companies/4849319/directors

          • Lulu 4.4.1.1.1

            Thanks Weka,
            We are not necessarily at odds. If I start at your point 6 I see
            “The Company receives money from investors.”
            I get that. If I jump down to 9 the income from the sale of energy comes back to the Company. I get that.
            The bit I don’t understand is point 10
            “The Company pay money to the investors and to the Trust.”
            You have a question mark there too. You say
            “I guess if I lived there I would want to know more detail eg how the profits are split between the community and the investors.” I agree thus my post.
            I am also interested to know who is taking the risk of the sale price for the output being below the return the investors expect.
            I am not saying that it is dodgy. My point is that even if the community benefits as you suggest it is still not clear by how much and whether the community is carrying any of the risk.

            • weka 4.4.1.1.1.1

              From my limited understanding I would say not. Any financial and legal risk is held by the directors of the company, and perhaps the trustees of the trust that owns it. In that sense the community doesn’t ‘own’ the project but the structure looks normal to me. Both organisations docs are on line.

              I raised concerns in another thread about the fact that the project got so far down the track without having the site’s immediate neighbours on board, and what did that mean about community consultation, so I agree it’s not perfect. They also don’t have info online I would expect eg photos with the turbines overlaid that show visual impact, the measurements in a map etc. I find that pretty stunning tbh. But so much has been done by volunteers too and it’s probably none of my business. If I lived there I’d be asking questions but I also have a lot of respect for people in communities that make things happen and they look on the rightish track to me.

    • Kiwiri 4.5

      Does anyone know or can anyone point out to the information available – what specifically will the community benefits be and how will any benefits, particularly profits, be shared with the community?

  5. And then there is the landowners subsidising everyone’s power .. and putting up with all sorts of shit from the power companies
    http://kapitiindependentnews.net.nz/pylon-blasting-pollution/

    • ianmac 5.1

      They do the sandblasting because they can. Wonder what is used to recoat the pylons?

  6. ianmac 6

    Mike Williams has a second post up on Pundit in which he says that the Electricity industry should get alongside alternative sources like wind and solar rather than attack and penalise.
    (Someone named as Chris Morris seems very well informed on the negatives in the comments but his background is unknown.)
    http://www.pundit.co.nz/content/adapt-or-die-flicking-the-switch-on-solar#comment-43171

    • Kiwiri 6.1

      I know about Chris Morris who is an engineer and it could be him. Or it is that reporter in the South.

      • ianmac 6.1.1

        I wonder if he works in some sort of PR for the Electricity Industry. No matter. He certainly puts a different perspective on the alternative sources.

        • Alfie 6.1.1.1

          @ianmac: I wonder if he works in some sort of PR for the Electricity Industry.

          In his Pundit profile Chris Morris describes himself as a “power station engineer from Taupo”. While he may know a bit about the electricity business, he has been posting quite a lot of tosh when it comes to solar. See this earlier post and my responses, especially the last one.

          http://www.pundit.co.nz/content/solar-tax-makes-its-harder-to-be-green-for-now

          And by the way, I live in Blueskin Bay and I’m an enthusiastic supporter of the Trust. Their main focus is 100% community-based, providing insulation advice and generally warming up homes in this area. They’re good people.

          • Ad 6.1.1.1.1

            Great to hear from another enthusiastic supporter.
            It’s a vital initiative, and I really hope they succeed.

  7. reason 7

    The electricity authority was created by National who appointed it with right wing yes men………..

    They did their job for the nats by attacking Labours single purchaser policy to stop the new privatised power company s abusing and overcharging consumers…. They were reported in the media ( Dom post etc), as an Independent ‘Authority ‘ …….

    They backed National fully and involved themselves in a kind of ‘dirty politics, … Their right wing bias was undisclosed. The fearmongering and hyped up attack lines coming from Hansen, a former treasury and business round table flake, were New Zealand would suffer black-outs and ruination if Labour could curb or stop the taking of excessive profits and market exploitation that private power companies always want to engage in…..

    Basically They exist to protect their own highly paid jobs…. and the Profits of our little wannabe Enrons ….

    “California officials are seeking to recover some of the $30 billion Governor Gray Davis says Enron “extorted from the state.” https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2002/05/enro-m10.html

    It’s also worth noting it was Enron and their right wing accounting tricks which lead to blackouts for California…….

    http://thestandard.org.nz/geoff-bertram-on-single-buyer-for-electricity/

    • Gavin 7.1

      I think you’re correct about Carl Hansen being fairly right-wing. Otherwise he’d be saying the sensible thing, which is why not roll everything back together as ECNZ and be done with it. We’re such a small country of consumers, why do we need so many energy providers? It’s costing these companies a lot of effort and time, costs to hold their customer bases, and we all end up paying for it sometime. Have any of them gone broke? It won’t get unwound, because they’ve all spent such a lot of money to split it up. But the old simpler system worked fine, and at least the one big outfit could make decisions which were geographically and economically the best for NZ.

      • Draco T Bastard 7.1.1

        +1

        • heather Tanguay 7.1.1.1

          The interesting thing about windmills and birds if, that very few birds I understand fly as high as the large turbines in New Zealand.
          Another myth ‘they frighten animals’, the sheep gather under them in the winter as it was warmer than out side the wind draft on the frost covered grass.
          As for solar, the Authority is not interested. The xtra charge people in the Wairarapa are having to pay is unfair. We sell for 8c a unit back to the power company the power we generate during the day and can not store over night, this is a miserable payment when you consider what people are charged per unit.
          When is this Authority meeting in Auckland or are our comments to be made by email?
          Of course this is a government appointed body looking after the interests of the power companies.

          • Ad 7.1.1.1.1

            As per the link in the post above, Auckland session is 14 June.

            The further link enables you to register to be there and have your say.

      • Robert Atack 7.1.2

        They won’t wind it back, most of the CEOs are on million dollar salaries
        http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/10287778/Powercos-defend-bosses-wage-hikes
        snip
        Million-dollar plus salaries for the bosses of energy companies are on the rise as Kiwis feel the winter chill and associated soaring power bills.

        Figures obtained by the Sunday Star-Times reveal the chief executives of five of our biggest energy companies are on salaries topping the $1m mark; with Contact Energy’s Dennis Barnes the top earner, receiving a salary of $1.58m in the 2012-13 financial year.

        During a year in which power prices continued to rise and thousands of Kiwi families battled what Green Party MP Gareth Hughes described as “energy poverty”, Barnes received a $279,674 pay rise.

        end snip

  8. reason 8

    I checked back and it was Brent Layton doing the right wing dirty politics type smear for the nats …………

    …….”“Dr Layton’s extraordinary foray into political debate is nothing more than a National Party-appointed civil servant who has failed to do his job and is now trying to protect his patch.” – See more at: http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2013/06/11/sparks-fly-with-yet-more-shocking-right-wing-nuttery/#sthash.qddP6zpc.dpuf

  9. Tom 9

    Two cats one called Ally and one called Tom, beware fu8kers – BEWARE of dangerous CATS!

  10. AlpineNRG 10

    Awesome post! As one who follows the EA very closely I’m pleased to see this article. It hits the mark for sure. There is no doubt the EA could use some closer scrutiny. I know from personal experience that the EA has little regard for consumers or for its role as a regulator. They consistently side with industry to the detriment of the consumer, and do so in contravention or their own mandate and even the law. It’s heartening to know that people are starting to pay more attention to this pathological, de-regulatory institution.

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    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    17 hours ago
  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    17 hours ago
  • Road rage at Kia Kaha Primary School
    It is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha Primary School!It can be any time when you are telling a story.Telling stories about things that happened in the past is how we learn from our mistakes.If we want to.Anyway, it is not the school holidays yet at Kia Kaha ...
    More than a fieldingBy David Slack
    17 hours ago
  • Hipkins fires up in leaders’ debate, but has the curtain already fallen on the Labour-led coalitio...
    Labour’s  Chris Hipkins came out firing, in the  leaders’ debate  on Newshub’s evening programme, and most of  the pundits  rated  him the winner against National’s  Christopher Luxon. But will this make any difference when New  Zealanders  start casting their ballots? The problem  for  Hipkins is  that  voters are  all too ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    18 hours ago
  • Govt is energising housing projects with solar power – and fuelling the public’s concept of a di...
    Buzz from the Beehive  Not long after Point of Order published data which show the substantial number of New Zealanders (77%) who believe NZ is becoming more divided, government ministers were braying about a programme which distributes some money to “the public” and some to “Maori”. The ministers were dishing ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    18 hours ago
  • MIKE GRIMSHAW: Election 2023 – a totemic & charisma failure?
    The D&W analysis Michael Grimshaw writes –  Given the apathy, disengagement, disillusionment, and all-round ennui of this year’s general election, it was considered time to bring in those noted political operatives and spin doctors D&W, the long-established consultancy firm run by Emile Durkheim and Max Weber. Known for ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    20 hours ago
  • FROM BFD: Will Winston be the spectre we think?
    Kissy kissy. Cartoon credit BoomSlang. The BFD. JC writes-  Allow me to preface this contribution with the following statement: If I were asked to express a preference between a National/ACT coalition or a National/ACT/NZF coalition then it would be the former. This week Luxon declared his position, ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    21 hours ago
  • California’s climate disclosure bill could have a huge impact across the U.S.
    This re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Andy Furillo was originally published by Capital & Main and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. The California Legislature took a step last week that has the potential to accelerate the fight against climate ...
    1 day ago
  • Untangling South East Queensland’s Public Transport
    This is a cross post Adventures in Transitland by Darren Davis. I recently visited Brisbane and South East Queensland and came away both impressed while also pondering some key changes to make public transport even better in the region. Here goes with my take on things. A bit of ...
    Greater AucklandBy Guest Post
    1 day ago
  • Try A Little Kindness.
    My daughter arrived home from the supermarket yesterday and she seemed a bit worried about something. It turned out she wanted to know if someone could get her bank number from a receipt.We wound the story back.She was in the store and there was a man there who was distressed, ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago
  • What makes NZFirst tick
    New Zealand’s longest-running political roadshow rolled into Opotiki yesterday, with New Zealand First leader Winston Peters knowing another poll last night showed he would make it back to Parliament and National would need him and his party if they wanted to form a government. The Newshub Reid Research poll ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago
  • September AMA
    Hi,As September draws to a close — I feel it’s probably time to do an Ask Me Anything. You know how it goes: If you have any burning questions, fire away in the comments and I will do my best to answer. You might have questions about Webworm, or podcast ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 day ago
  • Bludgers lying in the scratcher making fools of us all
    The mediocrity who stands to be a Prime Minister has a litany.He uses it a bit like a Koru Lounge card. He will brandish it to say: these people are eligible. And more than that, too: These people are deserving. They have earned this policy.They have a right to this policy. What ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    2 days ago
  • More “partnerships” (by the look of it) and redress of over $30 million in Treaty settlement wit...
    Buzz from the Beehive Point of Order has waited until now – 3.45pm – for today’s officially posted government announcements.  There have been none. The only addition to the news on the Beehive’s website was posted later yesterday, after we had published our September 26 Buzz report. It came from ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago
  • ALEX HOLLAND: Labour’s spending
    Alex Holland writes –  In 2017 when Labour came to power, crown spending was $76 billion per year. Now in 2023 it is $139 billion per year, which equates to a $63 billion annual increase (over $1 billion extra spend every week!) In 2017, New Zealand’s government debt ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • If not now, then when?
    Labour released its fiscal plan today, promising the same old, same old: "responsibility", balanced books, and of course no new taxes: "Labour will maintain income tax settings to provide consistency and certainty in these volatile times. Now is not the time for additional taxes or to promise billions of ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago
  • THE FACTS:  77% of Kiwis believe NZ is becoming more divided
    The Facts has posted –        KEY INSIGHTSOf New Zealander’s polled: Social unity/division 77%believe NZ is becoming more divided (42% ‘much more’ + 35% ‘a little more’) 3%believe NZ is becoming less divided (1% ‘much less’ + 2% ‘a little less’) ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on the cynical brutality of the centre-right’s welfare policies
    The centre-right’s enthusiasm for forcing people off the benefit and into paid work is matched only by the enthusiasm (shared by Treasury and the Reserve Bank) for throwing people out of paid work to curb inflation, and achieve the optimal balance of workers to job seekers deemed to be desirable ...
    2 days ago
  • Wednesday’s Chorus: Arthur Grimes on why building many, many more social houses is so critical
    New research shows that tenants in social housing - such as these Wellington apartments - are just as happy as home owners and much happier than private tenants. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The election campaign took an ugly turn yesterday, and in completely the wrong direction. All three ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago
  • Old habits
    Media awareness about global warming and climate change has grown fairly steadily since 2004. My impression is that journalists today tend to possess a higher climate literacy than before. This increasing awareness and improved knowledge is encouraging, but there are also some common interpretations which could be more nuanced. ...
    Real ClimateBy rasmus
    2 days ago
  • Bennie Bashing.
    If there’s one thing the mob loves more than keeping Māori in their place, more than getting tough on the gangs, maybe even more than tax cuts. It’s a good old round of beneficiary bashing.Are those meanies in the ACT party stealing your votes because they think David Seymour is ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago
  • The kindest cuts
    Labour kicks off the fiscal credibility battle today with the release of its fiscal plan. National is expected to follow, possibly as soon as Thursday, with its own plan, which may (or may not) address the large hole that the problems with its foreign buyers’ ban might open up. ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    2 days ago
  • Green right turn in Britain? Well, a start
    While it may be unlikely to register in New Zealand’s general election, Britain’s PM Rishi Sunak has done something which might just be important in the long run. He’s announced a far-reaching change in his Conservative government’s approach to environmental, and particularly net zero, policy. The starting point – ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    2 days ago
  • At a glance – How do human CO2 emissions compare to natural CO2 emissions?
    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 ...
    3 days ago
  • How could this happen?
    Canada is in uproar after the exposure that its parliament on September 22 provided a standing ovation to a Nazi veteran who had been invited into the chamber to participate in the parliamentary welcome to Ukrainian President Zelensky. Yaroslav Hunka, 98, a Ukrainian man who volunteered for service in ...
    3 days ago
  • Always Be Campaigning
    The big screen is a great place to lay out the ways of the salesman. He comes ready-made for Panto, ripe for lampooning.This is not to disparage that life. I have known many good people of that kind. But there is a type, brazen as all get out. The camera ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago
  • STEPHEN FRANKS: Press seek to publicly shame doctor – we must push back
    The following is a message sent yesterday from lawyer Stephen Franks on behalf of the Free Speech Union. I don’t like to interrupt first thing Monday morning, but we’ve just become aware of a case where we think immediate and overwhelming attention could help turn the tide. It involves someone ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Competing on cruelty
    The right-wing message calendar is clearly reading "cruelty" today, because both National and NZ First have released beneficiary-bashing policies. National is promising a "traffic light" system to police and kick beneficiaries, which will no doubt be accompanied by arbitrary internal targets to classify people as "orange" or "red" to keep ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago
  • Further funding for Pharmac (forgotten in the Budget?) looks like a $1bn appeal from a PM in need of...
    Buzz from the Beehive One Labour plan  – for 3000 more public homes by 2025 – is the most recent to be posted on the government’s official website. Another – a prime ministerial promise of more funding for Pharmac – has been released as a Labour Party press statement. Who ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago
  • Bryce Edwards: The Vested interests shaping National Party policies
    As the National Party gets closer to government, lobbyists and business interests will be lining up for influence and to get policies adopted. It’s therefore in the public interest to have much more scrutiny and transparency about potential conflicts of interests that might arise. One of the key individuals of ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    3 days ago
  • Labour may be on way out of power and NZ First back in – but will Peters go into coalition with Na...
    Voters  are deserting Labour in droves, despite Chris  Hipkins’  valiant  rearguard  action.  So  where  are they  heading?  Clearly  not all of them are going to vote National, which concedes that  the  outcome  will be “close”. To the Right of National, the ACT party just a  few weeks  ago  was ...
    Point of OrderBy tutere44
    3 days ago
  • GRAHAM ADAMS: Will the racists please stand up?
    Accusations of racism by journalists and MPs are being called out. Graham Adams writes –    With the election less than three weeks away, what co-governance means in practice — including in water management, education, planning law and local government — remains largely obscure. Which is hardly ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago
  • Gordon Campbell on whether Winston Peters can be a moderating influence
    As the centre-right has (finally!) been subjected to media interrogation, the polls are indicating that some voters may be starting to have second thoughts about the wisdom of giving National and ACT the power to govern alone. That’s why yesterday’s Newshub/Reid Research poll had the National/ACT combo dropping to 60 ...
    3 days ago
  • Tuesday’s Chorus: RBNZ set to rain on National's victory parade
    ANZ has increased its forecast for house inflation later this year on signs of growing momentum in the market ahead of the election. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: National has campaigned against the Labour Government’s record on inflation and mortgage rates, but there’s now a growing chance the Reserve ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago
  • After a Pittsburgh coal processing plant closed, ER visits plummeted
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Katie Myers. This story was originally published by Grist and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story. Pittsburgh, in its founding, was blessed and cursed with two abundant natural resources: free-flowing rivers and a nearby coal seam. ...
    3 days ago
  • September-23 AT Board Meeting
    Today the AT board meet again and once again I’ve taken a look at what’s on the agenda to find the most interesting items. Closed Agenda Interestingly when I first looked at the agendas this paper was there but at the time of writing this post it had been ...
    3 days ago
  • Electorate Watch: West Coast-Tasman
    Continuing my series on interesting electorates, today it’s West Coast-Tasman.A long thin electorate running down the northern half of the west coast of the South Island. Think sand flies, beautiful landscapes, lots of rain, Pike River, alternative lifestylers, whitebaiting, and the spiritual home of the Labour Party. A brief word ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago
  • Big money brings Winston back
    National leader Christopher Luxon yesterday morning conceded it and last night’s Newshub poll confirmed it; Winston Peters and NZ First are not only back but highly likely to be part of the next government. It is a remarkable comeback for a party that was tossed out of Parliament in ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago
  • 20 days until Election Day, 7 until early voting begins… but what changes will we really see here?
    As this blogger, alongside many others, has already posited in another forum: we all know the National Party’s “budget” (meaning this concept of even adding up numbers properly is doing a lot of heavy, heavy lifting right now) is utter and complete bunk (read hung, drawn and quartered and ...
    exhALANtBy exhalantblog
    4 days ago
  • A night out
    Everyone was asking, Are you nervous? and my response was various forms of God, yes.I've written more speeches than I can count; not much surprises me when the speaker gets to their feet and the room goes quiet.But a play? Never.YOU CAME! THANK YOU! Read more ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    4 days ago
  • A pallid shade of Green III
    Clearly Labour's focus groups are telling it that it needs to pay more attention to climate change - because hot on the heels of their weaksauce energy efficiency pilot programme and not-great-but-better-than-nothing solar grants, they've released a full climate manifesto. Unfortunately, the core policies in it - a second Emissions ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • A coalition of racism, cruelty, and chaos
    Today's big political news is that after months of wibbling, National's Chris Luxon has finally confirmed that he is willing to work with Winston Peters to become Prime Minister. Which is expected, but I guess it tells us something about which way the polls are going. Which raises the question: ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago
  • More migrant workers should help generate the tax income needed to provide benefits for job seekers
    Buzz from the Beehive Under something described as a “rebalance” of its immigration rules, the Government has adopted four of five recommendations made in an independent review released in July, The fifth, which called on the government to specify criteria for out-of-hours compliance visits similar to those used during ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago
  • Letter To Luxon.
    Some of you might know Gerard Otto (G), and his G News platform. This morning he wrote a letter to Christopher Luxon which I particularly enjoyed, and with his agreement I’m sharing it with you in this guest newsletter.If you’d like to make a contribution to support Gerard’s work you ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    4 days ago
  • LINDSAY MITCHELL: Alarming trend in benefit numbers
    Lindsay Mitchell writes –  While there will not be another quarterly release of benefit numbers prior to the election, limited weekly reporting continues and is showing an alarming trend. Because there is a seasonal component to benefit number fluctuations it is crucial to compare like with like. In ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • BRIAN EASTON: Has there been external structural change?
    A close analysis of the Treasury assessment of the Medium Term in its PREFU 2023 suggests the economy may be entering a new phase.   Brian Easton writes –  Last week I explained that the forecasts in the just published Treasury Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update (PREFU 2023) was ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago
  • CRL Progress – Sep-23
    It’s been a while since we looked at the latest with the City Rail Link and there’s been some fantastic milestones recently. To start with, and most recently, CRL have released an awesome video showing a full fly-through of one of the tunnels. Come fly with us! You asked for ...
    4 days ago
  • Monday’s Chorus: Not building nearly enough
    We are heading into another period of fast population growth without matching increased home building or infrastructure investment.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: Labour and National detailed their house building and migration approaches over the weekend, with both pledging fast population growth policies without enough house building or infrastructure investment ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago
  • Game on; Hipkins comes out punching
    Labour leader Chris Hipkins yesterday took the gloves off and laid into National and its leader Christopher Luxon. For many in Labour – and particularly for some at the top of the caucus and the party — it would not have been a moment too soon. POLITIK is aware ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    4 days ago
  • Tax Cut Austerity Blues.
    The leaders have had their go, they’ve told us the “what?” and the “why?” of their promises. Now it’s the turn of the would be Finance Ministers to tell us the “how?”, the “how much?”, and the “when?”A chance for those competing for the second most powerful job in the ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago
  • MIKE GRIMSHAW:  It’s the economy – and the spirit – Stupid…
    Mike Grimshaw writes – Over the past 30-odd years it’s become almost an orthodoxy to blame or invoke neoliberalism for the failures of New Zealand society. On the left the usual response goes something like, neoliberalism is the cause of everything that’s gone wrong and the answer ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    5 days ago
  • 2023 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #38
    A chronological listing of news and opinion articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Sep 17, 2023 thru Sat, Sep 23, 2023. Story of the Week  Opinion: Let’s free ourselves from the story of economic growth A relentless focus on economic growth has ushered in ...
    5 days ago
  • The End Of The World.
    Have you been looking out of your window for signs of the apocalypse? Don’t worry, you haven’t been door knocked by a representative of the Brian Tamaki party. They’re probably a bit busy this morning spruiking salvation, or getting ready to march on our parliament, which is closed. No, I’ve ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    6 days ago
  • Climate Town: The Brainwashing Of America's Children
    Climate Town is the YouTube channel of Rollie Williams and a ragtag team of climate communicators, creatives and comedians. They examine climate change in a way that doesn’t make you want to eat a cyanide pill. Get informed about the climate crisis before the weather does it for you. The latest ...
    7 days ago
  • Has There Been External Structural Change?
    A close analysis of the Treasury assessment of the Medium Term in its PREFU 2023 suggests the economy may be entering a new phase. Last week I explained that the forecasts in the just published Treasury Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Update (PREFU 2023) was similar to the May Budget BEFU, ...
    PunditBy Brian Easton
    7 days ago
  • Another Labour bully
    Back in June, we learned that Kiri Allan was a Parliamentary bully. And now there's another one: Labour MP Shanan Halbert: The Labour Party was alerted to concerns about [Halbert's] alleged behaviour a year ago but because staffers wanted to remain anonymous, no formal process was undertaken [...] The ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago
  • Climate Change: Ignoring our biggest problem
    Its that time in the election season where the status quo parties are busy accusing each other of having fiscal holes in a desperate effort to appear more "responsible" (but not, you understand, by promising to tax wealth or land to give the government the revenue it needs to do ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    7 days ago
  • JERRY COYNE: A good summary of the mess that is science education in New Zealand
    JERRY COYNE writes –  If you want to see what the government of New Zealand is up to with respect to science education, you can’t do better than listening to this video/slideshow by two exponents of the “we-need-two-knowledge-systems” view. I’ve gotten a lot of scary stuff from Kiwi ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago
  • Good news on the GDP front is accompanied by news of a $5m govt boost for Supercars (but what about ...
    Buzz from the Beehive First, we were treated to the news (from Finance Minister Grant Robertson) that the economy has turned a corner and New Zealand never was in recession.  This was triggered by statistics which showed the economy expanded 0.9 per cent in the June quarter, twice as much as ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    7 days ago
  • The Scafetta Saga
    It has taken 17 months to get a comment published pointing out the obvious errors in the Scafetta (2022) paper in GRL. Back in March 2022, Nicola Scafetta published a short paper in Geophysical Research Letters (GRL) purporting to show through ‘advanced’ means that ‘all models with ECS > ...
    Real ClimateBy Gavin
    7 days ago
  • Friday's Chorus: Penny wise and pound foolish
    TL;DR: In the middle of a climate emergency and in a city prone to earthquakes, Victoria University of Wellington announced yesterday it would stop teaching geophysics, geographic information science and physical geography to save $22 million a year and repay debt. Climate change damage in Aotearoa this year is already ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    7 days ago
  • CHRIS TROTTER: Calling the big dog’s bluff
      For nearly thirty years the pundits have been telling the minor parties that they must be good little puppies and let the big dogs decide. The parties with a plurality of the votes cast must be allowed to govern – even if that means ignoring the ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    7 days ago
  • The electorate swing, Labour limbo and Luxon-Hipkins two-step
     Another poll, another 27 for Labour. It was July the last time one of the reputable TV company polls had Labour's poll percentage starting with a three, so the limbo question is now being asked: how low can you go?It seems such an unlikely question because this doesn't feel like the kind ...
    PunditBy Tim Watkin
    7 days ago
  • A Womance, and a Nomance.
    After the trench warfare of Tuesday night, when the two major parties went head to head, last night was the turn of the minor parties. Hosts Newshub termed it “the Powerbrokers' Debate”.Based on the latest polls the four parties taking part - ACT, the Greens, New Zealand First, and Te ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 week ago
  • When The Internet Rushes To Your Defense
    Hi,You can’t make this stuff up.People involved with Sound of Freedom, the QAnon-infused movie about anti-child trafficker Tim Ballard, are dropping like flies. I won’t ruin your day by describing it here, but Vice reports that footage has emerged of executive producer Paul Hutchinson being inappropriate with a 16-year-old trafficking ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    1 week ago
  • Doubts about Robertson’s good news day
    The trading banks yesterday concluded that though GDP figures released yesterday show the economy is not in recession, it may well soon be. Nevertheless, the fact that GDP has gone up 0.8 per cent in the latest quarter and that StatsNZ revised the previous quarter’s figure to show a ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 week ago
  • The Votes That Media Dare Not Speak Its Name
    .Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work..A recent political opinion poll (20 September) on TV1 presented what could only be called bleak news for the Left Bloc:National: 37%, down two points equating to 46 seatsLabour: 27%, down one point (34 ...
    Frankly SpeakingBy Frank Macskasy
    1 week ago
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #38 2023
    Open access notables At our roots Skeptical Science is about cognition of the results of climate science research in the minds of the entire human population. Ideally we'd be perfectly communicating understanding of Earth's climate, and perfectly understood. We can only approximate that, but hopefully converging closer to perfection. With ...
    1 week ago
  • Failing To Hold Back The Flood: The Edgy Politics of the Twenty-First Century.
    Coming Over The Top: Rory Stewart's memoir, Politics On The Edge, lays bare the dangerous inadequacies of the Western World's current political model.VERY FEW NEW ZEALANDERS will have heard of Rory Stewart. Those with a keen eye for the absurdities of politics may recognise the name as that of the ...
    1 week ago

  • New community-level energy projects to support more than 800 Māori households
    Seven more innovative community-scale energy projects will receive government funding through the Māori and Public Housing Renewable Energy Fund to bring more affordable, locally generated clean energy to more than 800 Māori households, Energy and Resources Minister Dr Megan Woods says. “We’ve already funded 42 small-scale clean energy projects that ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago
  • Huge boost to Te Tai Tokerau flood resilience
    The Government has approved new funding that will boost resilience and greatly reduce the risk of major flood damage across Te Tai Tokerau. Significant weather events this year caused severe flooding and damage across the region. The $8.9m will be used to provide some of the smaller communities and maraes ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago
  • Napier’s largest public housing development comes with solar
    The largest public housing development in Napier for many years has been recently completed and has the added benefit of innovative solar technology, thanks to Government programmes, says Housing Minister Dr Megan Woods. The 24 warm, dry homes are in Seddon Crescent, Marewa and Megan Woods says the whanau living ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago
  • Te Whānau a Apanui and the Crown initial Deed of Settlement I Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me...
    Māori: Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna te Whakaaetanga Whakataunga Kua waitohua e Te Whānau a Apanui me te Karauna i tētahi Whakaaetanga Whakataunga hei whakamihi i ō rātou tāhuhu kerēme Tiriti o Waitangi. E tekau mā rua ngā hapū o roto mai o Te Whānau ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 days ago
  • Plan for 3,000 more public homes by 2025 – regions set to benefit
    Regions around the country will get significant boosts of public housing in the next two years, as outlined in the latest public housing plan update, released by the Housing Minister, Dr Megan Woods. “We’re delivering the most public homes each year since the Nash government of the 1950s with one ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 days ago
  • Immigration settings updates
    Judicial warrant process for out-of-hours compliance visits 2023/24 Recognised Seasonal Employer cap increased by 500 Additional roles for Construction and Infrastructure Sector Agreement More roles added to Green List Three-month extension for onshore Recovery Visa holders The Government has confirmed a number of updates to immigration settings as part of ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    6 days ago
  • Poroporoaki: Tā Patrick (Patu) Wahanga Hohepa
    Tangi ngunguru ana ngā tai ki te wahapū o Hokianga Whakapau Karakia. Tārehu ana ngā pae maunga ki Te Puna o te Ao Marama. Korihi tangi ana ngā manu, kua hinga he kauri nui ki te Wao Nui o Tāne. He Toa. He Pou. He Ahorangi. E papaki tū ana ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Renewable energy fund to support community resilience
    40 solar energy systems on community buildings in regions affected by Cyclone Gabrielle and other severe weather events Virtual capability-building hub to support community organisations get projects off the ground Boost for community-level renewable energy projects across the country At least 40 community buildings used to support the emergency response ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • COVID-19 funding returned to Government
    The lifting of COVID-19 isolation and mask mandates in August has resulted in a return of almost $50m in savings and recovered contingencies, Minister of Health Dr Ayesha Verrall announced today. Following the revocation of mandates and isolation, specialised COVID-19 telehealth and alternative isolation accommodation are among the operational elements ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Appointment of District Court Judge
    Susie Houghton of Auckland has been appointed as a new District Court Judge, to serve on the Family Court, Attorney-General David Parker said today.  Judge Houghton has acted as a lawyer for child for more than 20 years. She has acted on matters relating to the Hague Convention, an international ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    7 days ago
  • Government invests further in Central Hawke’s Bay resilience
    The Government has today confirmed $2.5 million to fund a replace and upgrade a stopbank to protect the Waipawa Drinking Water Treatment Plant. “As a result of Cyclone Gabrielle, the original stopbank protecting the Waipawa Drinking Water Treatment Plant was destroyed. The plant was operational within 6 weeks of the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago
  • Govt boost for Hawke’s Bay cyclone waste clean-up
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