TPP11 close to being signed?

Written By: - Date published: 10:34 am, November 10th, 2017 - 127 comments
Categories: david parker, Environment, International, jacinda ardern, trade - Tags: ,

Reporting from different sources suggests that TPP11 is close to be signed.

From Radio New Zealand:

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has arrived at the APEC summit saying talks to conclude the Trans Pacific Partnership are “down to the wire”.

Discord has emerged between Japan and Canada over progress on the TPP trade deal as Japan said countries “agree in principle” on a way forward, but Canada said there was no such agreement.

Trade ministers of the 11 countries involved, including New Zealand’s David Parker, have been meeting on the sidelines of Apec at Danang in Vietnam.

Negotiations are expected to continue to the bert last minute.

New Zealand wants to drop the provisions on foreign corporations suing governments using overseas tribunals, but Ms Ardern admitted it had been tough going convincing others.

“I don’t want to predict what way it will go. There are a number of issues still on the table. Not all of them are ours.

“We are pursuing our interests but other countries certainly have their issues they continue to pursue. We of course are continuing to focus on both trying to balance our exporters’ needs but also our country’s.”

Ms Ardern doubted a TPP deal could be be done if if there was no agreement today.

“It’s down to the wire of whether or not there will be [a TPP document signed],” she said.

Asked by reporters about the results of a meeting of TPP ministers, Japanese economy minister Toshimitsu Motegi said they “agree in principle”, and had finalised “a list of suspensions” – clauses that would be suspended to avoid renegotiating the whole agreement.

But division emerged with Canada, whose trade minister later said there was no such agreement.

Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said on Twitter: “Despite reports, there is no agreement in principle on TPP.”

The detail will be vital. The ability to continue to make decisions, particularly environmental decisions, that are in the national interest has to be preserved. And the dreaded ISDS clauses need to go. New Zealand’s legal system is more than capable of handling any local legal disputes.

127 comments on “TPP11 close to being signed? ”

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  1. indiana 1
    10 November 2017 at 10:53 am

    https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2017/11/07/jacinda-says-isds-is-a-dog-so-lets-put-it-down/

    I guess Jacinda won’t be getting a Christmas card from Prof Jane Kelsey.

  2. McGrath 2
    10 November 2017 at 10:53 am

    This is turning out to be a good deal. The US (and their dodgy practices) are out, and so are houses now they’re classed as “strategic”. Well done Labour! They know the value of trade when push comes to shove.

    • 3stepstotheright 2.1
      10 November 2017 at 11:19 am

      The US were out before Labour were elected. Good try though.

      The bigger question though is how Jacinda will spin her government signing TPP11 without achieving anything on the ISDS clause after everything she is quoted as saying previously?

  3. Enough is Enough 3
    10 November 2017 at 10:54 am

    Do not sign Jacinda.

    Do not get bullied into this by National or the right wing media.

    Do not sign Jacinda.

    Labour has rightly provided strong opposition to this treaty over the past 2 years and set 5 bottom lines.

    Do not follow the path of previous government and break your promises.

    Do not sign Jacinda

  4. Carolyn_Nth 4
    10 November 2017 at 10:59 am

    Who is this “bert”, and what influence does this mysterious creature have on the last minute negotiations? [question to RNZ]

    And for me it is, TPPA-11; No Way!

  5. Puckish Rogue 5
    10 November 2017 at 11:37 am

    Ok so when this goes through will there be protests and marching in the street over this?

  6. mauī 6
    10 November 2017 at 11:44 am

    This is all a bit like the village elders from various tribes going away in secret for a weekend, drinking too much and coming up with some bizarre agreement between them. Then coming back and telling all the villagers that there’s now new inter-tribal rules in place. Oh and tough luck.

    • weka 6.1
      10 November 2017 at 11:54 am

      Brilliant! And when they come back they’re all preened up so everything looks like it might be ok.

    • AB 6.2
      10 November 2017 at 1:30 pm

      Though I’d imagine in ‘primitive’ cultures that actually have village elders there would be some well-established conventions on how these things are done that are broadly accepted by everyone.
      I suspect elites in western ‘democracies’ are much more likely to spring unconscionable surprises on their populations than are village elders…

  7. Puckish Rogue 7
    10 November 2017 at 11:55 am

    I don’t know how accurate this: https://www.kiwiblog.co.nz/2017/11/tpp11_looks_to_be_a_go.html

    “This is good news. Labour look set to do a u-turn on their previous opposition and support TPP. National has pledged to give them the numbers in the House to implement it even if Greens and NZ First oppose it.”

    But I’d suggest that yes National will support this so thats the two largest parties and just over 80% of the vote

    • Jan Rivers 7.1
      10 November 2017 at 2:59 pm

      The PM and Trade Minister can hardly be seen not to try. The messaging on this stuff has to be pretty subtle. That’s why the petition with 91,000 signatures had to come off the Labour Party website. That’s why the page “Our position on the TPPA” – http://www.labour.org.nz/our_position_on_the_tpp – has been updated in the last few days.

      What’s on the cards though now? The TPPA-10 as Canada fails to sign? Hardly. Also Labour’s trade policy is VERY strong on the problems with the TPPA – https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/nzlabour/pages/8555/attachments/original/1504500586/Trade_Manifesto.pdf?1504500586. Why sign up to provisions that the PM has labelled “a dog” when other new trade agreements say with the EU wouldn’t contain these provisions.

      The country has less of its GDP in exports than 10 years ago by a significant margin because of policies that don’t support a speculative and not a productive economy. There are plenty more opportunities for innovation & a high wage high skills economy if the deal is not signed.

      The right are talking up an agreement aiming to maximise the negative fallout for Labour if itdoesn’t go ahead. It’s scary brinksmanship for all who understand what is at stake but I’m picking it won’t be going ahead at least in anything like its current form.

      • veutoviper 7.1.1
        10 November 2017 at 3:17 pm

        +10000%. Thanks for that excellent explanation, Jan.

        Oh that the process and implications of such international negotiations, agreements etc were as simple as some people would like.

        Poker. Bridge and tightrope walking together have nothing on such negotiations. ‘ Bull in a china shop’ tactics do not have any place in such situations.

        IMHO Parker, Peters and Ardern are a strong and synergistic team for navigating the murky waters of the Da Nang negotiations.

        • Jan Rivers 7.1.1.1
          10 November 2017 at 4:43 pm

          🙂 Thanks. It’s a guess but some other picks have been right about the current government’s trajectory so why not have a go!

          • veutoviper 7.1.1.1.1
            11 November 2017 at 12:58 pm

            I had a quick look at your Public Good website, Jan, and was impressed. Have bookmarked it for future reference and have put reading it in full as a top priority.

            I am impressed with the approach taken in your open letter to David Parker re the TPP and ISDS , as IMHO this is the type of approach that is much more likely to be taken notice of, than the adversarial approach of many others.

            http://www.publicgood.org.nz/

            Keep up the good work. And, as a fellow Wellingtonian, I actually recognise you from your Linked In photo.

            Have you seen the quick interview between Lisa Owen and David Parker this morning put up here on Thank you Canada at 10 by bwaghorn?

            http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11942971

            Well worth a watch.

            • Jan Rivers 7.1.1.1.1.1
              13 November 2017 at 9:59 am

              Thanks again belatedly. That’s really kind. Like the TPPA interview – from David Parker – it’s not really dead until it’s dead!

              Let’s hope Labour commit now to the process that is in their manifesto.

      • greywarshark 7.1.2
        10 November 2017 at 5:36 pm

        Jan Rivers
        Do you mean:

        ‘because of policies that support a speculative and not a productive economy. ‘

  8. veutoviper 8
    10 November 2017 at 11:59 am

    Over the years when the original TPPA was being negotiated, time and time again we were told every time there was an APEC meeting or similar, that this will be it – the TPPA will be agreed.

    What happened ? Negoitations would continue throughout the night etc – and then completion would be delayed.

    My money is on agreement again being delayed.

    Japan has been pushing hard this round to finalise the TPP-11 agreement . Although they were late coming into the original TPP negotiations, they now prefer to go into TPP multilateral arrangements than into bilateral trade agreements with the US in particular. These US- Japan bilateral negotiations have been running simultaneously alongside the TPP talks. There is a lot of playing one side off against the other going on in this regard.

    Malaysia and others (eg Vietnam) have also had concerns re the TPP provisions for some months and want changes. Canada and Mexico are also currently in renegotiation of the NAFTA with the US – and are having to weigh up the pros and cons of both the changes sought by the US to NAFTA and the TPP-11 proposed provisions. So again, a very complex situation.

    We should get a better idea in another few hours.

    Note – Vietnam is 6 hours behind NZ time. It is currently 11.57am here, so it is 5.57am in Da Nang. Jacinda is apparently having breakfast with Malcolm Turnbull in a hour or two.

  9. savenz 9
    10 November 2017 at 12:09 pm

    Hopefully no agreement. TPPA a dog.

  10. Bill 10
    10 November 2017 at 12:20 pm

    The TPP was signed back in Feb 2016 and ratified by NZ in May 2017.

    These talks are largely about finding ways to “bring it into force”, given that the US has withdrawn. (The original TPP would only have come into force if the US & Japan had both signed)

    Apparently, there’s a need to agree on which provisions will be suspended (not withdrawn) – with the idea being they will come into effect again if the US signs up at some future date.

    • savenz 10.1
      10 November 2017 at 12:25 pm

      Good points.

    • veutoviper 10.2
      10 November 2017 at 12:36 pm

      As you say, a major part of the current negotiations is about what provisions of the original TPPA to ‘suspend’ as a result of the US withdrawal to allow then to be reinstated if the US comes back in later.

      Reporting in NZ has focused on NZ wants etc in the negotiations, but I have been following reports from Asia press sources etc for some time as I find these reports more revealing of the overall situation. NZ is not alone in wanting/proposing actual changes to some provisions. Malaysia and others have had second thoughts on some of the non-trade provisions and have been seeking changes or withdrawal of these.

    • Jan Rivers 10.3
      10 November 2017 at 4:36 pm

      According to Andrew Geddis any agreement will have to go back to Parliament at least in NZ. Is that what you meant – that this step would not be necessary? His argument looks pretty convincing. https://www.pundit.co.nz/content/why-the-tpp11-will-have-to-go-back-before-parliament and Labour Policy is to have a more realistic National Interest Analysis.

      The last one was (If ISDS are a dog) a double down dog – impossible to read, poorly structured, missing important information. It did not even make clear, for example, that bottled water was excluded from the more general provisions allowing the government to continue to legislate in favour of public goods like water management, EQC, ACC and fire brigades. From my understanding this would mean that it is not only housing legislation but other issues – possibly many – that would need hurried legislation in order to be passed b4 the treaty comes into force.

      It also used an analysis of the benefits that assessed every removal of legislative protection as an economic gain. A minute’s thought shows that is daft.

      Seeing a credible analysis going through the select committee would be something! Essentially we are signing this. There are no benefits! There are many downsides. A masochist might want to go there.

  11. Sparky 11
    10 November 2017 at 1:30 pm

    My prediction is the whole thing will fall into place pretty much “as is” and NZ will become the Mexico of the South West Pacific.

    Margarita anyone?

  12. Draco T Bastard 12
    10 November 2017 at 1:48 pm

    We should be doing something like this before we sign up to any more FTAs:

    What were its main findings?

    The findings of the Commission that audited Ecuador’s investment regime were conclusive. The BITs have not brought benefits to the country, they only brought risks and costs.
    In particular, the Commission found that the Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITS) signed by Ecuador failed to deliver promised foreign direct investment. Also, Ecuador’s BITs contradict and undermine the development objectives laid out in the country’s constitution and its National Plan for Living Well (Buen Vivir). It was also established that the companies that sued the government at international investment tribunals left behind enormous social and environmental liabilities/debt.

    What were the main recommendations of CAITISA?

    The Commission gave detailed recommendations that covered 11 pages. But, the key one was the termination of all bilateral investment treaties.

    We need to know if there’s been a net benefit of the ones we already have or if it’s a net loss. If they’ve increased our economic development or not and if they’ve benefited us socially as well.

    • savenz 12.1
      10 November 2017 at 2:27 pm

      +1 Draco

    • srylands 12.2
      10 November 2017 at 2:38 pm

      You are showing selfishness. This is not just about benefits to New Zealand.

      • McFlock 12.2.1
        10 November 2017 at 2:44 pm

        This is not just about benefits to New Zealand.

        Agreed, it’s primarily about benefits to corporate shareholders.

        • srylands 12.2.1.1
          10 November 2017 at 10:58 pm

          What does that mean!? Every New Zealander with a substantial Kiwisaver portfolio is effectively a corporate shareholder? Or do you rejoice when your portfolio tanks?

          • McFlock 12.2.1.1.1
            10 November 2017 at 11:02 pm

            What amount do you regard as “substantial” for life savings?

          • KJT 12.2.1.1.2
            12 November 2017 at 9:14 pm

            The vast majority of New Zealanders are net debtors. Thanks to 33 years of relentless removal of wealth from our communities.

            In what way does having lower wages, and a bigger mortgage, help most of us.

      • Draco T Bastard 12.2.2
        10 November 2017 at 4:51 pm

        Well, if these things are as good as you believe then a wide ranging inquiry will show that won’t it?

        If they’re not as good as you believe and are causing us damage then we obviously need to get out of them.

        Either way, the only way to know is to have that wide ranging inquiry.

    • Ad 12.3
      10 November 2017 at 3:08 pm

      Agree, even though we are different to Ecuador.

      MFAT should publish all its rationales and strategic assessments whatever TPP’s status after this weekend.

  13. cleangreen 13
    10 November 2017 at 2:06 pm

    2pm RNZ news
    report said;

    Start;

    “TPP 11 was close to signing last night but this morning at todays meeting one country was not agreed to sign (and it is not known which)

    Talks will resume again tomorrow.”

    End;

    • McFlock 13.1
      10 November 2017 at 2:29 pm

      Stuff are saying it was neither NZ or Canada who were opposed. Quoted Parker as saying we got some of what we wanted, but not everything – and they know NZ won’t do ISDS in the future (no word on the current TPP, though…)

      • weka 13.1.1
        10 November 2017 at 2:52 pm

        What’s the relevance to the TPPA of NZ not doing ISDS in the future if it’s in the TPPA?

        • McFlock 13.1.1.1
          10 November 2017 at 3:30 pm

          Probably not much. But then we don’t know what they asked for and got, or whether they had a public interest defense included if ISDS is still in the deal.

          • R 13.1.1.1.1
            10 November 2017 at 5:43 pm

            My prediction: ISDS is still included and Labour have folded on excluding it.

            • McFlock 13.1.1.1.1.1
              10 November 2017 at 11:06 pm

              Can’t fold on something you never promised to do.

              • Richard Christie …
                10 November 2017 at 11:37 pm

                Nonsese, you can certainly fold by signing up to clauses you have publicly expressed serious concern over.

                • McFlock …
                  11 November 2017 at 12:04 am

                  Without alteration to those clauses, I agree.

                  But that doesn’t mean Labour is opposed to all ISDS – look at David Parker opposing the TPP ISDS format while holding up the China FTA ISDS as an example of good ISDS.

                  Here’s what I suspect: left to it’s own devices, Labour would go for a tweaking of the ISDS to exclude laws in the public interest, maybe even leaving defining that up to the ISDS process. However, needing NZ1 and the Greens for support, they’ll push harder. Splitting the coalition and going with national on the first test would be an extremely foolhardy move. But at the moment Labour are probably hoping that the Japan/Canada thing scuppers the deal entirely.

                  lolshit – just checked the news before posting: Canada makes the decision for them.

                  Ardern owes Trudeau a pint ount of general principle.

                  • marty mars …
                    11 November 2017 at 12:16 am

                    Yep forget the first day stuff – THIS is where the shit gets smelly. These guys have dodged a bullet if the deal won’t go. I hope it is foolhardy inexperience and they learn because they only have a few chances to not fuck it up. Too close this one – not good labour.

                    • McFlock …
                      11 November 2017 at 12:21 am

                      I don’t suppose they’ll release the draft text anytime soon. Pity – I’d really like to know, one way or t’other.

  14. Ad 14
    10 November 2017 at 2:25 pm

    Without the US, or China, (or Europe) inside this, a successful TPP is a coalition of economies either tired, lost, or weak trying to aggregate one nest of differently-sized rodents into one large dog. Hard to see it barking.

    Kinda like the non-aligned state movement during the Cold War. That was rarely useful.

    China will be ready to pick up the pieces and call Abe if this dog can’t hunt.

    This coulda-shoulda been a GATT substitute. Tiny weak countries like us only survive with rule-based trade systems.

    But multilateralism is breaking right across the world. Ominous for us if this breaks down and fractures again. Winners will be existing trade blocs.

    • Gristle 14.1
      10 November 2017 at 2:46 pm

      Tiny weak countries only survive if they don’t create too many problems for bigger states. Rules only exist for small players. Large players will rewrite the rules, and or take the ball and go home, and or beat the snot out of you.

      Last year NZ’s GDP was about 1% of USA’s.

      The Mouse that Roared was a work of fiction.

      • Ad 14.1.1
        10 November 2017 at 5:16 pm

        Check the optics:

        Friday: Trump and Xi do dinner and broker massive deals.

        Saturday: all TPP also-rans can’t get their shit together to sign trade deal and compete against either Trump or Xi.

        Got to admit Trump knows his timing.

  15. CHCOff 15
    10 November 2017 at 2:48 pm

    The best result for NZ would be all the other nations sign it and we do not.

    As have opinoned b4, that would give the NZ quality of life an artificial significant boost in the medium to long term comparatively to the nations involved, which in one way or another would result in giving NZ goods and services an advantage of quality due to a ‘relatively’ less bottom ended societal construct that the other nations are having the burden of.

    The political reality of NZ’s economic management may not be strong enough for that outcome in it’s current structural form, and the realistic option is damage limitation in having the elements of investor state and secret tribunals over riding capacity for sovereign decision making will removed.

    • srylands 15.1
      10 November 2017 at 2:59 pm

      That is never going to happen. I am immensely impressed with the new Government on this issue.

  16. Philj 16
    10 November 2017 at 2:55 pm

    The mega Corporations right to sue Governments is fundamentally undemocratic. This is the logical end game of the so called ‘free market’, which is a delusional fiction. This is a sell out of the government’s own sovereignty. Jacinda, “Let’s NOT do this!”

    • srylands 16.1
      10 November 2017 at 3:03 pm

      Why? Governments do stupid things all the time that damage the interests of shareholders. Jacinda will do this and I am immensely relieved.

      • Draco T Bastard 16.1.1
        10 November 2017 at 4:58 pm

        Governments do stupid things all the time that damage the interests of shareholders.

        The government regulating for the benefit of the citizens is one of the risks of doing business.

        • srylands 16.1.1.1
          10 November 2017 at 5:41 pm

          Well fortunately your view of the role of government is about to be consigned to the rubbish bin.

          • KJT 16.1.1.1.1
            10 November 2017 at 8:55 pm

            Srylands. Nothing to add except unsubstantiated opinion, as usual.

          • Draco T Bastard 16.1.1.1.2
            10 November 2017 at 9:58 pm

            Corporations are not there to govern. We’ve tried that before – it was called mercantilism and it was a complete failure. Pretty much the same as today’s capitalism for that matter.

            We have a democracy because having a few people with power over others is a failure.

          • KJT 16.1.1.1.3
            11 November 2017 at 11:02 am

            Yes. Why not just let corporations make the law?

            Wait a minute……………………….

      • Incognito 16.1.2
        10 November 2017 at 8:49 pm

        Shareholders vs. stakeholders AKA the few vs. the many. Enough said.

    • Enough is Enough 16.2
      10 November 2017 at 3:05 pm

      Phil Corporations always have the right to sue Governments. That right is not the issue here.

      ISDS is the issue

      • One Anonymous Bloke 16.2.1
        10 November 2017 at 5:07 pm

        improved but not completely resolved…

        We’ve made it clear that for the future we’re not on for ISDS clauses.

        …got some of what we want, not all of what we want.

        Foreign Minister Peters.

    • srylands 16.3
      10 November 2017 at 5:38 pm

      What about medium sized corporations? Are you suggesting that companies should not sue governments or just big ones? Governments around the world do stupid things. If these stupid things damage shareholder value I am all for the suing.

      You would side with the Vietnamese government over Fonterra?

      I hope that the successful signing of the TPP is a turning point for the government. The fact that it is a Labour government that signs the deal makes it clear to the protesters of the last 5 years that their opposition is misguided. There is no alternative to trade and capital liberalisation.

      • AB 16.3.1
        10 November 2017 at 6:39 pm

        “If these stupid things damage shareholder value I am all for the suing”
        The role of sovereign governments is to maximise the well-being of its entire citizenry, not protect the unearned income streams of foreigners.

        • CHCOff 16.3.1.1
          10 November 2017 at 7:13 pm

          The more a sovereign Government empowers nationhood and community, Without being either, the better the civilisation.

      • KJT 16.3.2
        10 November 2017 at 8:57 pm

        Called “Democracy” Srylands.

        I know that is a strange concept.

        That the citizens in our country are allowed to control how much corporations are allowed to steal from, and damage, the community.

      • Draco T Bastard 16.3.3
        10 November 2017 at 10:03 pm

        The fact that it is a Labour government that signs the deal makes it clear to the protesters of the last 5 years that their opposition is misguided.

        Wrong. It tells them not to trust Labour and to never vote for them again. 2020 we would have a Green government and the ability to remove ourselves from this abortion.

  17. cleangreen 17
    10 November 2017 at 3:06 pm

    Agreed CHCOff,

    We are not a country that desperately needs this type of shotgun trade.

    “We can do better than this” (said Jacinda) and me now.

    NZ = Not clutching at straws.

  18. veutoviper 18
    10 November 2017 at 3:42 pm

    As I am going offline for a few hours, for anyone that is interested, here is a link to a useful Google search I am currently using to keep up to date with what is being reported on the TPP-11 negotiations outside NZ – particularly in the Asian media. Gives a broader perspective than just reading the NZ media.

    https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=TPP-11&rlz=1C1LDJZ_enNZ499&tbas=0&tbs=qdr:h,sbd:1&source=lnt&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiCxNC27LLXAhXDF5QKHSrUBJE4ChCnBQgf&biw=1024&bih=724

    To translate the search parameters I have set:

    Main search – TPP-11

    Google tools – Any country; Past hour; Sorted by date

    A few funnies come up (eg Pokemon) but this search brings up media reports from media such as the Fiscal Times, the Malaysian Times, Japanese news sites etc – ie other countries participating in the TPP negotiations.

    Even just a quick read down the headlines will give you a feel for the differences in reporting/desired outcome …

    Some of the funnies actually give links to other articles on TPP – eg the current top listing is an Australian ABC link re Canada and marijuana but the side listing gives you this article saying Austalia and Peru are reporting TPP is signed and sealed. Tui ad

    http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/trans-pacific-partnership-tpp11-deal-close/9136882

  19. cleangreen 19
    10 November 2017 at 5:36 pm

    My Guess is that the country that has not signed up is Japan.

    Why do I believe it is Japan?

    Japan was quoted on media lunch time as saying the agreement had not been signed.

    Japan was the principal country now railing against reductions in the wording text of the origional ISDS clauses.

    I believe the other countries have carved out a ‘watered down worded paragraph of the origional context’ and when Japan later reviewed that wording it did a u-turn, and said they had not agreed to those word changes when they saw they may loose control of disputing countries over their investments..

    So we will wait and see if I am correct here now.

    Japan has always been at the forefront of hatching strong wording ISDS context and they have explained that it is because of their substantial investments in most countries.

    In NZ japan has several large wood mills and forestry assets.

    So they may be a problem for labour wood policy; – where labour is about to place several regional wood mills as finishing wood products in regions, and Japan companies may not want to supply logs to these wooden mills for making finished products so the issue is very complex for sure.

  20. Carolyn_Nth 20
    10 November 2017 at 5:38 pm

    So RNZ are reporting, the reps for the 11 countries thought they had agreement late last night, but then discovered one country’s reps didn’t agree to the text. Parker said it was not NZ or Canada that declined to agree.

    So that means Team Parker-Ardern have agreed to the TPPA-11 text pretty quickly, without a lot of negotiation.

    That is very concerning.

    http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/political/343526/it-s-not-new-zealand-holding-up-the-consensus-parker

    Mr Parker said Labour had got “some of what we wanted” and the issue had been “improved but not completely resolved”.

    “We’ve made it clear that for the future we’re not on for [investor-state dispute settlement] clauses.”

    I am more than pissed. I have protested and demonstrated against this dog of a deal many times over recent years.

    • R 20.1
      10 November 2017 at 5:59 pm

      “I am more than pissed. I have protested and demonstrated against this dog of a deal many times over recent years.”

      Agreed. To me, folding on ISDS will be Labour’s second ‘great betrayal’ (1984-89) being the first.

      I’ve been an ex Labour voter for some time now since sticking out the Clark years in forlorn misplaced hope they might reverse their neolibtard direction.

      This TPP betrayal will take me to another level, that of active anti-Labour advocacy.

      Destruction of faith within their political base and roots sets the ground for future demagogy.

      What a way to start the term.

      • Carolyn_Nth 20.1.1
        10 November 2017 at 6:11 pm

        I’m just hearing Parker on RNZ saying that the ISDS has been improved but still remains.

        The language being expressed in my flat is not pretty.

      • srylands 20.1.2
        10 November 2017 at 6:12 pm

        Well you have been extremely naive. Activism and protests are fine in Opposition. But these guys now have the responsibility of government. To their credit they look like they are delivering.

        If the Minister of Finance can now do the same fiscally, this may actually be a good Government. Early days, but I am very relieved today.

  21. cleangreen 21
    10 November 2017 at 6:26 pm

    Slylands said;

    “To their credit they look like they are delivering.”

    “Delivering us to global corporations to plunder & ruin our environenment” – you need to say accurately.

    Well you have been extremely naive, as we are definately not!!!!!

    • BM 21.1
      10 November 2017 at 6:30 pm

      You’re pretty naive if you thought Labour wasn’t going to sign.

      Seriously, Labour kicked off the whole thing.

      • KJT 21.1.1
        10 November 2017 at 9:01 pm

        To their permanent discredit.

        Unfortunately Parliamentary groupthink is a thing.

      • Draco T Bastard 21.1.2
        10 November 2017 at 10:21 pm

        Would agree with you there. Anyone who thought otherwise was fooling themselves.

        Labour are as much a capitalist party as National and they follow the same ideology. Unfortunately, their members haven’t worked that out yet despite thirty years of them doing exactly that.

      • cleangreen 21.1.3
        10 November 2017 at 10:27 pm

        HaHa BM you lost ha ha ha ha.

        This day I am so proud to be a Canadian again.

        You are a disgrace pushing a shackling TPPA plan to undermine our democracy.

        Oh Canada we love you.

  22. Carolyn_Nth 22
    10 November 2017 at 9:50 pm

    Breaking!

    RNZ twitter, and Stuff headline – more soon.

    TPP talks collapse after Canada no show!

    Yuuuuuusssss!

    Audrey Young says it was Vietnam that held things up last night. Now Canada.

    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11942876

  23. Chris 23
    10 November 2017 at 10:07 pm

    Finally an actual breaking news story on Stuff “Talks to revive the TPP collapse”.

    Maybe the Canadians reflected on their anthem.

    From far and wide,
    O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

    God keep our land glorious and free!
    O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

  24. Penny Bright 24
    10 November 2017 at 10:27 pm

    https://i.stuff.co.nz/world/98783933/transpacific-partnership-talks-collapse-after-canada-pulls-out-of-the-trade-deal

    “Talks to revive the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact have effectively collapsed after Canada pulled out.

    The talks have be postponed indefinitely.”

    YAY!!!!!

    Penny Bright

    • cleangreen 24.1
      10 November 2017 at 10:36 pm

      Oh Penny I am so proud I became a Canadian Citizen in 1976 after living there as a kiwi, and now my second country saved my first country.

      I now have found a true love of Canada again . Yippee shit I am going to open a bottle of bubbly.

      I feel sorry for James, BM, srylands, and 3stepstotheright as they are all loosers.

    • Richard Christie 24.2
      10 November 2017 at 10:44 pm

      Yes but with no thanks to the NZ Labour Party.

      How is it other nations can stand up to group think and bullying but effectively, NZ folds every time.

      And in the embarrassing small number of occasions we do show some spine (ANZUS nuclear free etc) we then have the hide to puff our chests out and carry on about how brave, principled and independent we are. We are a pack of wallies.

  26. Robert Guyton 26
    10 November 2017 at 10:46 pm

    Roller Coaster. James, BM, Pucky et al will be heaving!
    🙂

  27. Incognito 27
    10 November 2017 at 10:58 pm

    I think NZ dodged a bullet and so did Labour. Hopefully, no TPP-10 silliness …

  28. Pat 28
    10 November 2017 at 11:03 pm

    how many chickens are there?

  29. Penny Bright 29
    10 November 2017 at 11:06 pm

    https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2017/11/10/59573/tpp-talks-collapse-at-final-hurdle

    TPP talks collapse at final hurdle

    “Talks to sign off on the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal have sensationally collapsed in the final stages, after Canada was a no-show at a meeting of leaders to finalise an agreement.

    Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says the talks have been postponed indefinitely, with no clear idea of why it is Canada chose to withdraw so late in the piece.”

    Good.

    ‘It ain’t over till it’s over ….’

    Penny Bright

  30. AB 30
    10 November 2017 at 11:12 pm

    So if the Canadians pull out it scuttles it. Or at least for a while until some true believers from the inner sanctum of the Free Church of St Tiny Brain Tim the Beatific Grocer, say “what about TPP-10?” And on it goes.
    But if NZ is the only one to pull out, the others just shrug and sign anyway? Isn’t it this that terrifies Parker? The optics of being ‘anti-trade’, the torrent of abuse from the domestic business media for being ‘anti-trade’? The scaremongering, the lies, the attention from the spy agencies intent on investigating the Coalition Government’s ‘economic sabotage’?
    And that’s why this horrible thing is so hard to kill off.

    • Draco T Bastard 30.1
      11 November 2017 at 10:41 am

      But if NZ is the only one to pull out, the others just shrug and sign anyway? Isn’t it this that terrifies Parker?

      Possibly. The fear of being so small that everyone else will ignore you.

      I think what the important lesson is comes from Ecuador when they pulled out of their BITs. They were told by the true believers that if they did pull out all sorts of bad things would happen which simply didn’t.

      We’re small enough that if we pulled out everyone else would simply shrug and carry on and we’d get to keep our sovereignty rather than being ruled over by unaccountable corporations while still having all the trade that we could handle.

      We don’t need ‘Free-Trade Agreements’ and never have done. All we need to do is set some standards that other countries need to meet or exceed before we will trade with them.

      Simply implement the Willing buyer, Willing seller basis of free-trade.

      • greywarshark 30.1.1
        11 November 2017 at 12:44 pm

        Some thoughts on trade without TPP. How are we going in the ‘rock-star economy’. Being someone who hasn’t had the official educational training to understand all about economics and trade, I tend to look at it from the viewpoint of what effect the method we are using has.

        It seems to me that we have opened up our doors wide to imports, so killing off the numerous little businesses that employed us, our children, our neighbour’s children and brought us together in a sustainable unit. Circular and supportive trade with one another enabled our communities to flourish with options for trying new procedures, new products, branching out using new technology etc. We are still able to do the tech business, but our basic bread and butter jobs have vanished. I’m sure that TPP will make this worse, giving advantages to those who already have them, otherwise why would it be pushed as it is?

        This opening of our borders with few protective tariffs left appears to me because we found that there was the possibility of selling milk powder to a rising world market also other primary products and that has replaced any other thought in the heads of leaders. So we have gone head over heels for this, and have lost control over our land and water in doing it, being influenced by our own and overseas business people who will milk us of all our resources, needed for ourselves. (We see this with our timber getting exported when we need it desperately for ourselves. But there is a better price for it overseas. Tuff titty NZs.)

        And finally the real problem. If we are going to be exporting great amounts of stuff, the countries buying will not like an imbalance of trade growing if we don’t import their goods. So the more we export, the more we have to spend on other countries’ goods.
        For instance Indonesia – 2013. http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/world/8704513/NZ-Indonesia-trade-imbalance-an-issue
        And China: New Zealand’s trade relationship with China has nearly tripled over the past decade, with two-way trade rising from $8.2 billion in the year ended June 2007 to $23 billion in the June 2016 year.

        Many of our people are not paid enough to afford these goods that have replaced NZ made, and they have to borrow to live, that’s apart from the borrowing for a mortgage if they can get one.
        New Zealanders spent more than $36 billion on their credit cards in 2016.
        And because so many of us are slack at paying off our balances at the end of each month, it led to a whopping interest bill.
        Jose George from financial services research agency Canstar says about 63 per cent of credit card spending ends up incurring interest, with an average interest rate of 19.24 per cent.
        http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/88595201/canstar-reveals-kiwis-massive-credit-card-interest-bill

        https://www.interest.co.nz/news/78184/new-zealand-scores-second-global-wealth-capita-and-first-when-adjusted-inequality
        2015 New Zealand scores second on global wealth per capita, and first when adjusted for inequality.
        This was interesting as we got a good report from Credit Suisse that had to be revised because they worked it from the wrong exchange rate. The data we are relying on, and probably gleefully announced by Gnashional was wrong.
        In whom can we trust? As the joke goes in the USA – In God we trust, all else pay cash.

        This report uses official RBNZ data for 2014. More than half of that ‘wealth’ is in housing and land. (This from RBNZ that is supposed to be fighting inflation, but mustn’t touch housing inflation which is through the roof.)

        The site had this at the bottom in 2015 and seem to be ‘interested’ in getting good info on the financials and the economy. If they are still going with the same policies, it may be good reading to gain insight rather than listen to the bank economists giving the official spiel on RadioNZ or other media.

        We welcome your help to improve our coverage of this issue. Any examples or experiences to relate? Any links to other news, data or research to shed more light on this? Any insight or views on what might happen next or what should happen next? Any errors to correct?
        We welcome your comments below. If you are not already registered, please register to comment or click on the “Register” link below a comment.
        Remember we welcome robust, respectful and insightful debate. We don’t welcome abusive or defamatory comments and will de-register those repeatedly making such comments. Our current Comment policy is here.

        A summary by Wikipedia.
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_New_Zealand#.22Rock_star.22_economy
        The economy of New Zealand is the 53rd-largest national economy in the world measured by nominal gross domestic product (GDP) and 68th-largest in the world measured by purchasing power parity (PPP). It is one of the most globalised economies and depends greatly on international trade, mainly with Australia, the European Union, the United States, China, South Korea, Japan and Canada. The Closer Economic Relations agreement with Australia means that New Zealand’s economy is closely aligned with the Australian economy.

        New Zealand’s diverse market economy has a sizable service sector, accounting for 63% of all GDP activity in 2013.[17] Large scale manufacturing industries include aluminium production, food processing, metal fabrication, wood and paper products. Mining, manufacturing, electricity, gas, water, and waste services accounted for 16.5% of GDP in 2013.[17] The primary sector continues to dominate New Zealand’s exports, despite accounting for 6.5% of GDP in 2013.[17]

        (Note most of our GDP is in the service sector, and primary sector exports dominate but actually only earn 6.5% of GDP. So the country is being rorted by the farmers who are taking stuff they want, and telling us that they are the bulwarks of our economy. BS more like it.)

        Other figures from Wikpedia table on right.
        GDP US$186.4 billion (2017, PPP)[2] (conversion says NZ$268.72 billion)
        Gross external debt
        NZ$232.8 billion (100.7% of GDP) (FY 2014)[12]

        Exports NZ$61.722 billion (FY 2013)
        Imports NZ$59.076 billion (FY 2013)[9]

        Main export partners
        Australia 21.0%
        China 15.0%
        United States 9.2%
        Japan 7.0% (2012 est.)[10]

        Main import partners
        China 17.0%
        Australia 12.3%
        United States 11.7%
        Japan 6.7%
        Germany 4.8%
        South Korea 4.5%
        Malaysia 4.3% (2016 est.)[11]

        (Population below poverty line
        No official statistics)

        I see we import from Germany 4.8% on these figures but no export is large enough to show up for our exports, neither UK or the European Union seems to have entered our sights. And we are terribly reliant on Australia for both export and imports. We need to do some more trading with others and route the funds through our own banks I think. What level of exports to South Korea I wonder. And Indonesia doesn’t appear anywhere despite talks in 2013.

        It seems that our exports are only a small percentage of our GDP. Is the
        government making the whole country suffer in order to get them, although the service sector amounts to 63% of GDP?
        (Trade in services measures transactions where no physical product is traded (eg spending by international tourists, or providing advice to an overseas client).

        Consider the variety of services (Much connected to tourism):
        Exports of personal travel services are estimated using a combination of International Visitors Survey data, and visitor arrival figures.
        Exports of education travel services are estimated using student numbers by country data from the Ministry of Education’s Export Education Levy.
        Imports of travel services are estimated using a combination of data from the 2004 Survey of Returned Travellers, and short-term resident departure figures.
        Exports of transportation services are estimated by adding together data from passenger, freight, and other transportation services.
        http://www.stats.govt.nz/browse_for_stats/economic_indicators/balance_of_payments/bop-international-trade-in-services-by-partner-country.aspx)

        How can we improve NZ position if we don’t have TPP? What about actively seeking new markets – Brazil, India for instance.
        What about upping our research and development which is low by world standards?
        https://www.ajpark.com/insights/articles/productivity-r-and-d-spending-and-an-election/
        (I note that the Dominion Post in a table of September 2017 did not include the Greens when looking at the Parties view on R&D. Didn’t they have one or is this just more ignorant reporting on important issues. I note they include ACT!
        It wants company tax reduced from 28 to 25% so they can apply the extra of R&D. Likely I don’t think.)

        • cleangreen 30.1.1.1
          11 November 2017 at 1:58 pm

          Yes greywarshark, you have hit the nail on the head 100%

          “It seems to me that we have opened up our doors wide to imports, so killing off the numerous little businesses that employed us, our children, our neighbour’s children and brought us together in a sustainable unit.”

          Your blog was very well reseached, and this government has definately killed off many manufacturing jobs here now by imports and alowing corporations to engage in buying our companies, then asset stipping them and selling off what they can and then disposing of their carrcasses.

          The country is littered with such examples, beginning with the large whiteware manufacturing icons like Fisher & Pykel.

          Next was all our Carpet Manufacturers & Mills are gone now, and the spinning mill equipment has now been shipped overseas to cheap carpet manufacturers in both China and India.

          So many smaller companies like DUX plumbing whiteware manufacturing and electrical companies like PDL, NECCO, have disappeared now leaving us with just poor quality Chinese stuff left to buy now.

          Winston has a plan to take any company now operating here who has recieved government subidies to operate and wants to close down will be taken back by Government and turned into workers CO-OP companies again as we had after the second world war.

          We need to restore our local industries again as he are becomming very reliant on overseas industries and this does not bode well for our futures.

          • greywarshark 30.1.1.1.1
            11 November 2017 at 2:21 pm

            Interesting cleangreen. Some definite steps have to be taken, with an eye
            on our future as Winston has proposed. He mightn’t get it through as the drag on ideas from the deadweight NZs who can’t see beyond the end of their own bank balances is great.

        • Draco T Bastard 30.1.1.2
          11 November 2017 at 3:10 pm

          This opening of our borders with few protective tariffs left appears to me because we found that there was the possibility of selling milk powder to a rising world market also other primary products and that has replaced any other thought in the heads of leaders.

          That was it exactly.

          It’s part of the myth of the Free-Market advocated from the time of Adam Smith that countries would specialise. In line with that NZ became a farm that pretty much sold its produce to Britain. Up to the middle of the 20th century around half our work force worked on or around farms. It’s what led to the myth that farming was the backbone of our economy because, at one point, it actually was.

          It no longer is now using up only ~7% of the workforce.

          It also throws the myth of countries specialising onto the rubbish heap as well. Even when farming was at it’s peak in workforce the country still didn’t specialise. No country can because it needs a complete economy else it simply doesn’t work. An excellent natural example is Yellowstone with the reintroduction of wolves and how that brought the other animal’s population in line and the environment so much healthier.

          The economy is very much an environment and removing parts of it in an effort to specialise results in an under-performing economy.

          The politicians haven’t worked that one out yet and still seem to hark back to the simpler halcyon days of yore which isn’t what they believe it to be anyway.

          If we are going to be exporting great amounts of stuff, the countries buying will not like an imbalance of trade growing if we don’t import their goods. So the more we export, the more we have to spend on other countries’ goods.

          Yep and that’s actually why we have a floating exchange rate.

          As we import more from China than we export to China the NZ$ should drop against the Chinese Renminbi. This is foiled through a couple of mechanisms. The first is China directly controls its exchange rate and keeps it artificially low and the second is the ‘Reserve Currency’ of the US. Each currency is measured against the US$ instead of each other and our currency is kept high against that of the US$ because of our high interest rates artificially increasing demand.

          If exchange rates were properly floating then we wouldn’t be importing from China now and probably for a few years more because of our massive importations over the last few years would have dropped our currency to well below that of China’s.

          IMO, that alone is enough to sink the FTA with China as they’re manipulating their currency against free-trade and are impoverishing us in the process.

          It seems that our exports are only a small percentage of our GDP. Is the government making the whole country suffer in order to get them, although the service sector amounts to 63% of GDP?

          That comes back to that delusion of countries specialising. So, if we are export country that’s specialising in producing primary produce and we want to grow the economy so that everyone has a job and to feed the entire country only takes about ~2% of the population then we need to increase the number of people who can buy the food that we produce. That’s what the free-trade agreements and the TPPA are for in theory but the state of our water ways and the fact that, despite all the land in farming now, it still only takes up ~7% of our workforce you can see how well that’s working.

          And that’s not even taking into account every other single country can provide all the food that it needs and wants to export the surplus.

          We’d be better off dropping farming down to enough to feed us and leave it at that. All the people freed up by this rationalisation could then be put to better use in other fields. Many would need to go back to uni though to get the education necessary (IMO, that’s another reason why politicians love farming – it’s cheap as the people doing it don’t need tertiary degrees and doctorates or higher).

          How can we improve NZ position if we don’t have TPP? What about actively seeking new markets – Brazil, India for instance.

          The correct course, and it will naturally happen under actual free-market conditions, would be to minimise trade between countries. The TPPA and other FTAs are trying to maximise it against all logic.

          • greywarshark 30.1.1.2.1
            11 November 2017 at 4:32 pm

            DTB
            That’s a really full answer to my comment Thanks.

            It is really necessary to sort through the trade and TPP situation getting back to basics. We are all confused by often heard assertions about how good everything is, and yet what we see is low standard society around us, and a refuge in blaming the strugglers. What shit. Society is the same as it always was and there weren’t people in such dire straits then. All these lies and subterfuge are doing our heads in.

            We’d be better off dropping farming down to enough to feed us and leave it at that. All the people freed up by this rationalisation could then be put to better use in other fields.

            Suggest the fields DTB. I think you like the technology prospect. Can we create some uniquely useful things that we don’t immediately hock off or give a big chunk of shares to some overseas or vulture company.

            Can we still have trade with wind-assisted electricity assisted boats and ships I wonder? Has the weather pattern changed so violently that it is going to be a chancy thing that a ship will get through an ocean to the other side?

            • Draco T Bastard 30.1.1.2.1.1
              11 November 2017 at 5:05 pm

              Suggest the fields DTB.

              Health would be a good one. Another few thousand people in that field as nurses, doctors and, yes, technologists would make a huge difference.

              Schooling and education. We seem to be a little light on teachers and researchers in the field.

              There’s probably a few more that would benefit from having another few thousand people in it.

              This is the real budget that we need the government to work with. The actual resources that we have available and what the best for them is.

              Can we still have trade with wind-assisted electricity assisted boats and ships I wonder?

              Yes, we can. After all, that’s how trade started. It’ll just be a fraction of what we have now because it’s slower and doesn’t shift as much.

              Has the weather pattern changed so violently that it is going to be a chancy thing that a ship will get through an ocean to the other side?

              A ship on the water is always at risk. We’ve minimised it to a large degree but nature is larger than we are.

  31. Grey Area 31
    10 November 2017 at 11:29 pm

    Good points. So as I expected we were about to be sold out by Labour and saved (so far) by the Canadians, for whatever reasons. But we’re not out of the woods yet, this zombie deal stumbles on.

  32. cleangreen 32
    11 November 2017 at 5:49 am

    I do love Jacinda and have not lost my respect for her yet;

    Jacinda has sided with Winston; as he is undoubtedly the most knowledgeable of all leaders at the forum so far.

    So I believe Jacinda is learning fast from Winston how to negotiate the ‘minefield’ of countries who obviously are already ‘carving out their niche’ of what they want in any trade deal as much as ‘my Canada’ did clearly which was to protest it’s own interests firstly.

    Is that not what we expect from our now Government?

    I certainly hope so.

    Anyway I for one will give my support to Jacinda for her good intentions for our collective health & wellbeing and especially her ‘pledge’ to run a Government of “openness, fairness, kindness and transparency”.

    On that note Jacinda will you please now honour your Government pledge and allow us the full account of then wording changes within the ISDS you said you was satisfied made changes to the ISDS please as the whole NZ population is still awaiting your release of the whole document now known as the TPP 11?

    Please come home with Winston and begin the next pledge made to restore all regions rail infrastructure and manufacturing please?

    The HB/Gisborne communities are still patiently awaiting your assistance to re-open our rail line again that the first labour government built in 1942 to Gisborne that the last National Government tried to destroy that Phil Twyford blew the whistle on in 2013 (on the labour party news on scoop)
    http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1302/S00183/kiwirail-admits-lack-of-maintenance-led-to-wash-out.htm
    Jacinda; so we can begin to get all those dirty polluting trucks off our truck gridlocked now very dangerous decaying roads and get our regions running our massive export potential rolling efficiently along our rail line with (rail’s low climate change CO2 emissions) again please.

    Please read our efforts on behalf our community’s in this letter we sent to the former Government on 3rd march 2013, clearly showing then our severe impacts now being levelled upon us all but the Government then never cared to meet us or assist to get our rail repaired then.
    (No replies ever were recieved following the letter we sent then)
    Letter 3/3/2013.
    In coordination with Local Governance, and other interested parties.
    Save the Gisborne rail campaign. 3rd March 2013.
    List of Ministers below.
    Important;

    For personal review and response from all Ministers involved in the subjects discussed within this letter, which involves, Tourism, Health, Transport, Economy, & Environment. we request your personal reply to this letter.

    TO; P.M. John Key. Minister of Tourism,
    Hon’ Gerry Brownlee, Minister of Transport.
    Hon’ Steven Joyce. Minister of Economic Development.
    Hon’ Tony Ryall, Minister of health.
    Hon’ Nick Smith, Minister of Environment.

    Last week we sent you the first listed death attributed road only truck freight policy.

    This week we focus on the toxic poisonous air you are now exposing urban residents to all along the truck corridor between Gisborne & Napier.
    We have previously worked on this issue of air pollution to residents living alongside truck routes in urban zones in Napier, with the PCE, Ministry of Health, Environment, and with local councils.

    Our very task at our community (NGO is to protect the environment, & health of all who live within it.

    We advocate to Government when we see issues of concern, & public health, and we expect to receive a response from the Minister of Health on residents health now being affected by heavy truck air pollution all along the urban corridors from Gisborne/Napier and all towns along the east coast, who will face the extra volumes of trucks we are now identifying are rolling down the corridor from rail closure.

    The volume of road freight is now increasing by another 56 single trips 112 (both way) already since the rail was closed from Gisborne by the storm partly from March 25th 2012, and from Wairoa south 4th December 2012.

    This is now expected to grow by a further 86 trucks a day one way (172 both ways) in two years as the wall of wood begins to come on stream around Wairoa & Napier, and no shipping facilities are close by those areas, only a Government abandoned railway line???

    Gisborne Port cannot solve this air pollution issue. Consider;

    • Many of the trucks are picking up freight from locations outside of the Gisborne area and delivering to other locations.
    • To ship through Gisborne port the trucks would be forced to travel back through Gisborne urban community exposing them to toxic truck pollution.
    • Delivery of the Gisborne port freight to either Napier or Tauranga, will require multiple handling and truck delivery through those cities further exposing urban residents in either Napier or Tauranga also.

    Dr Nick Smith has shown strong concern about air pollution in his own Nelson electorate, about this issue, as demonstrated early this decade when heavy truck traffic was causing the same air pollution/public health threat to Nelson residents.

    A former National Government closed the rail service to nelson during the 1960s’ and relying only on heavy truck freight to the Nelson Port, & were learning of high levels of air pollution in Nelson, & further truck traffic was considered unacceptable.
    Important.
    Because Government has clearly signalled no intention to reopen the Gisborne/Napier rail service for any reason whatsoever, our organisation is currently involved with others to produce a consortium with proposal to lease the Gisborne Napier line to restore rail freight operations, & tourism trains, and request your support.

    This hard decision was required partly to mitigate against the increasing truck pollution, residents are now facing, causing a public health issue, in Gisborne, Wairoa, & Napier, to name just three locations we have identified. PCE identified these measured were required when PCE completed a year long Napier study on this subject in 2005, in which our organisation was partly involved.
    Please review the following PCE site & recommendations to use rail to mitigate these health issues.
    http://www.pce.parliament.nz/assets/Uploads/Hawkes-Bay-Expressway-Noise-and-air-quality-issues-June-2005.pdf

    Your written response from all Ministers involved in these issue of Health, Environment, Transport, Economy,& Tourism is requested.

    Phil Twyford’s whistle blowing media release 0n 14/2/2013 subject of Gisborne rail being damaged by the past National Government

    http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PA1302/S00183/kiwirail-admits-lack-of-maintenance-led-to-wash-out.htm

    Thursday, 14 February 2013, 1:35 pm
    Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party
    Phil Twyford
    Transport Spokesperson
    14 February 2013
    Kiwi Rail admits lack of maintenance led to wash-out
    Kiwi Rail has admitted that its failure to maintain old and damaged culverts was behind the wash out that closed the Gisborne-Napier line, while cuts to its maintenance budget are putting the network at further risk, Labour’s Transport spokesperson Phil Twyford says.
    “Across the country Kiwi Rail missed its target of replacing 71 old culverts last year, and only replaced 49. This is cause for alarm.
    “The Gisborne-Napier wash-out shows what happens when essential maintenance work is not carried out.
    “Kiwi Rail cut and deferred $200 million of network maintenance last year. At the very time it needs to be upgrading its network and improving efficiency, the Government’s unrealistic ‘Turn Around Plan’ is putting enormous stress on the organisation and forcing it to cut maintenance.
    “Kiwi Rail has told Parliament’s transport committee it has 12,197 rail line culverts around the country and has done a risk assessment identifying 53 high priority culverts but ‘…in spite of every effort to mitigate risk, some incidents of wash out may still occur…’
    “National’s plan for rail is not workable. Kiwi Rail has missed its financial targets for two of the last three years. It is being forced to make cuts that are a false economy.
    “At a time when the Government is wasting billions of dollars on its ‘motorways of madness’, it makes no sense to cripple the national rail line.”
    ENDS

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    Helen Clark joins the Hoon as a special guest talking whether Aotearoa should join Aukus II, and her views on the fast track legislation and how Luxon and the new Government are performing. File Photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for subscribers features co-hosts ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    6 hours ago

  • Weekly Roundup 17-May-2024
    We’re at the end of another week. Here’s some of the things that caught our attention this week. This Week in Greater Auckland On Monday Matt asked if the Herald’s poor journalism will cost lives On Tuesday Matt covered Wayne Brown’s proposal for public transport in the Long ...
    Greater AucklandBy Greater Auckland
    6 hours ago

  • Rishi’s relaunch
    With an election due in less than nine months, Britain’s embattled PM, Rishi Sunak, gave a useful speech earlier this week. He made a substantial case for his government, perhaps as compelling as is possible in the current environment. Quite an achievement. His overall theme was security, first pulling ...
    Point of OrderBy xtrdnry
    15 hours ago

  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #20 2024
    Open access notables Publicly expressed climate scepticism is greatest in regions with high CO2 emissions, Pearson et al., Climatic Change: We analysed a recently released corpus of climate-related tweets to examine the macro-level factors associated with public declarations of climate change scepticism. Analyses of over 2 million geo-located tweets in the U.S. showed that climate ...
    Skeptical Science
    18 hours ago

  • The thrilling possibilities of charter schools
    You can be all negative about these charter schools if you want, but I’m here to accentuate the positive. You can get all worked up, if you want to, by the contradiction of Luxon saying We’re going to make sure that every school in the country is teaching exactly the same ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    22 hours ago

  • This Unreasonable Government.
    Losing The Room: One can only speculate about what has persuaded the Coalition Government that it will pay no electoral price for unreasonably pushing ahead with policies that are so clearly against the national interest. They seem quite oblivious to the risk that by doing so they will convince an increasing ...
    Bowalley Road
    22 hours ago

  • Supreme Court weighs in on name suppression
    Name suppression decisions can be tough sometimes. No matter your views on free speech, you have to be hard-hearted not to be torn by the tug of the competing arguments. I think you can feel the Supreme Court wrestling with that in M v The King. The case for ...
    Media Law JournalBy Steven
    22 hours ago

  • Is This A “Merchants” Government?
    The Merchants of Menace: The Coalition Government has convinced itself that the “Brahmins’” emollient functions have become much too irksome and expensive. Those who see themselves as the best hope of rebuilding New Zealand’s ailing capitalist system, appear to have convinced themselves that a little bit of blunt trauma is what their mollycoddled ...
    Bowalley Road
    22 hours ago

  • This is what corruption looks like
    When National first proposed its Muldoonist "fast-track" law, they were warned that it would inevitably lead to corruption. And that is exactly what has happened, with Resources Minister Shane Jones taking secret meetings with potential applicants: On Tuesday, in a Newsroom story, questions were raised about a dinner Jones ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    22 hours ago

  • Take that, Vladimir – and be warned: we have plenty more sanctions (at least, we hope so) in our ...
    Buzz from the Beehive One day – hopefully – we will push that Russian rascal, Vladimir Putin, beyond breaking point.  Perhaps it will happen today, when he learns that Foreign Minister Winston Peters is again tightening the thumbscrews. Peters announced further sanctions, this time on 28 individuals and 14 entities ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    23 hours ago

  • More Harm Than Good.
    How Labour’s and National’s failure to move beyond neoliberalism has brought New Zealand to the brink of economic and cultural chaos.TO START LOSING, so soon after you won, requires a special kind of political incompetence. At the heart of this Coalition Government’s failure to retain, and build upon, the public ...
    Bowalley Road
    23 hours ago

  • The Ombudsman fails again
    In 2020, the Operation Burnham inquiry reported back, finding that NZDF had lied to Ministers and the New Zealand public about its actions in Afghanistan. The inquiry saw a large number of documents declassified and released, which raised another problem: whether they had also lied to the Ombudsman in his ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    23 hours ago

  • No Time To Think: Ageing Boomers, Laurie & Les, Talk Politics.
    “Members of Parliament don’t work for us, they represent us, an entirely different thing. As with so much that has turned out badly, the re-organising of MPs’ responsibilities began with the Fourth Labour Government. That’s when they began to be treated like employees – public servants – whose diaries had ...
    Bowalley Road
    23 hours ago

  • Bryce Edwards: Lobbying for Waikato’s Medical School causing problems for the Govt
    It’s becoming a classic case study for why lobbying deals with politicians need greater scrutiny. Former National Minister Steven Joyce runs a lobbying company with a major client – the University of Waikato. The University desperately wants $300m+ of taxpayer funding to establish a third medical school in New Zealand, ...
    Democracy ProjectBy bryce.edwards
    23 hours ago

  • Picking Sides.
    Time To Choose: Like it or not, the Kiwis are either going into AUKUS’s  “Pillar 2” – or they are going to China.HAD ZHENG HE’S FLEET sailed east, not west, in the early Fifteenth Century, how different our world would be. There is little reason to suppose that the sea-going junks ...
    Bowalley Road
    24 hours ago

  • Universities offer course in self-serving cowardice
    Henry Ergas writes –  When in Randall Jarrell’s Pictures from an Institution, a college president is accused of being a hypocrite, the novel’s narrator retorts that the description is grossly unfair. After all, the man is still far from the stage of moral development at which the charge ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • The teacher trainee challenge
    David Farrar writes –  Radio NZ reports: The Education Review Office says too many new teachers feel poorly prepared for their jobs. In a report published on Monday, the review office said 60 percent of the principals it interviewed said their new teachers were not ready. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • Words and (in)actions
    New Zealand’s economic performance and the PM’s vision   Michael Reddell writes –  When I wrote yesterday morning’s post, highlighting how poorly both New Zealand and its Anglo peer countries have been doing in respect of productivity in recent times (ie, in the case of New ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    1 day ago

  • What do you hope for/fear from the budget?
    Hi all,Firstly - thank you! You guys are awesome. The response I’ve received to last night’s mail has been quite overwhelming. It’s a ghastly day outside, but there are no clouds in here.In case you didn’t read my email and are wondering what on earth I’m talking about you can ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    1 day ago

  • Gordon Campbell on ACT’s charter schools experiment
    If there was still any doubt as to who is actually running this government – and it isn’t the buffoon from Botany – then this week’s announcement of a huge spend up on charter schools has settled the matter. While jobs and public services continue to be cut in the ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    1 day ago

  • Drought fuels wildfire concerns as Canada braces for another intense summer
    This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Gaye Taylor As widespread drought raises expectations for a repeat of last year’s ferocious wildfire season, response teams across Canada are grappling with the rapidly changing face of fire in a warming climate. No longer quenched by winter, nor quelled by the ...
    Skeptical Science
    1 day ago

  • Bernard’s Dawn Chorus and pick ‘n’ mix for Thursday, May 16
    Half of Christchurch City Holdings Ltd’s directors and its chair resigned en masse last night in protest at Christchurch City Council’s demand to front-load dividends File Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The chair of Christchurch City Council’s investment company and four of its independent directors resigned in protest last ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    1 day ago

  • Controversial proposal could threaten coalition
    The University of Waikato has reworded an advertisement that begins the tender process for its new $300 million-plus medical school even though the Government still needs to approve it. However, even the reworded ad contains an architect’s visualisations of what the school might look like. ACT leader David Seymour told ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    1 day ago

  • Of Rings of Power Annatar, Dramatic Irony, and Disguises
    As a follow-up to the Rings of Power trailer discussion, I thought I needed to add something. There has been some online mockery about the use of the same actor for both the Halbrand and Annatar incarnations of Sauron. The reasoning is that Halbrand with a shave and a new ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    2 days ago

  • The future of Nick's Kōrero.
    This isn’t quite as dramatic as the title might suggest. I’m not going anywhere, but there is something I wanted to talk to you about.Let’s start with a typical day.Most days I send out a newsletter in the morning. If I’ve written a lot the previous evening it might be ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • The PM promises tax relief in the Budget – but will it be enough to satisfy the Taxpayers’ Union...
    Buzz from the Beehive The promise of tax relief loomed large in his considerations when  the PM delivered a pre-Budget speech to the Auckland Business Chamber. The job back in Wellington is getting government spending back under control, he said, bandying figures which show that in per capita terms, the ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    2 days ago

  • Fucking useless
    Yesterday de facto Prime Minister David Seymour announced that his glove puppet government would be re-introducing charter schools, throwing $150 million at his pet quacks, donors and cronies and introducing an entire new government agency to oversee them (the existing Education Review Office, which actually knows how to review schools, ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    2 days ago

  • Setting things straight.
    Seeing that, in order to discredit the figures and achieve moral superiority while attempting to deflect attention away from the military assault on Rafa, Israel supporters in NZ have seized on reports that casualty numbers in Gaza may be inflated … Continue reading → ...
    KiwipoliticoBy Pablo
    2 days ago

  • Far too light a sentence
    David Farrar writes – Newstalk ZB report: The man responsible for a horror hit and run in central Wellington last year was on a suspended licence and was so drunk he later asked police, “Did I kill someone?” Jason Tuitama injured two women when he ran a red ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Unwinding Labour’s Agenda
    Muriel Newman writes –  Former US President Ronald Reagan once said, “Freedom is a fragile thing and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation.” The fight for ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • Sequel to “Real reason Waitangi Tribunal could not summons Chhour”
    Why Courts should have said Waitangi Tribunal could not summons Karen Chhour Gary Judd writes – In the High Court, Justice Isacs declined to uphold the witness summons issued by the Waitangi Tribunal to compel Minister for Children, Karen Chhour, to appear before it to be ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • The Govt’s Fast-Track is being demolished by submissions to Parliament
    Bryce Edwards writes –  The number of voices raising concerns about the Government’s Fast-Track Approvals Bill is rapidly growing. This is especially apparent now that Parliament’s select committee is listening to submissions from the public to evaluate the proposed legislation. Twenty-seven thousand submissions have been made to Parliament ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    2 days ago

  • A generation is leaving at a rate of one A320-load per day
    An average of 166 New Zealand citizens left the country every day during the March quarter, up 54% from a year ago.Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The economy and housing market is sinking into a longer recession through the winter after a slump in business and consumer confidence in ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    2 days ago

  • NZUP RORS back to life
    The government has made it abundantly clear they’re addicted to the smell of new asphalt. On Tuesday they introduced a new term to the country’s roading lexicon, the Roads of Regional Significance (RoRS), a little brother for the Roads of National (Party) Significance (RoNS). Driving ahead with Roads of Regional ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    2 days ago

  • School Is Out.
    School is outAnd I walk the empty hallwaysI walk aloneAlone as alwaysThere's so many lucky penniesLying on the floorBut where the hell are all the lucky peopleI can't see them any moreYesterday morning, I’d just sent out my newsletter on Tama Potaka, and I was struggling to make the coffee. ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    2 days ago

  • How Are You Doing?
    Hi,I wanted to check in and ask how you’re doing.This is perhaps a selfish act, of attempting to find others feeling a similar way to me — that is to say, a little hopeless at the moment.Misery loves company, that sort of deal.Some context.I wish I could say I got ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    2 days ago

  • The Rings of Power: Season Two Teaser Trailer
    I have hitherto been fairly quiet on the new season of Rings of Power, on the basis that the underwhelming first season did not exactly build excitement – and the rumours were fairly daft. The only real thing of substance to come out has been that they have re-cast Adar ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    2 days ago

  • At a glance – What ended the Little ice Age?
    On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • Talking Reo with the PM
    “The thing is,” Chris Luxon says, leaning forward to make his point, “this has always been my thing.”“This goes all the way back to the first multinational I worked for. I was saying exactly the same thing back then. The name of our business needs to be more clear; people ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    3 days ago

  • Waitangi Tribunal’s authority in Chhour case is upheld – but bill’s introduction to Parliament...
    Buzz from the Beehive It’s been a momentous few days for Children’s Minister Karen Chhour.  The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court decision which blocked a summons order from the Waitangi Tribunal for her. And today she has announced the Government is putting children first by introducing to ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • Australia jails another whistleblower
    In 2014 former Australian army lawyer David McBride leaked classified military documents about Australian war crimes to the ABC. Dubbed "The Afghan Files", the documents led to an explosive report on Australian war crimes, the disbanding of an entire SAS unit, and multiple ongoing prosecutions. The journalist who wrote the ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • Some “scrutiny”!
    Back in February I blogged about another secret OIA "consultation" by the Ministry of Justice. This one was on Aotearoa's commitment in its Open Government Partnership Action Plan to "strengthen scrutiny of Official Information Act exemption clauses in legislation" (AKA secrecy clauses). Their consultation paper on the issue focused on ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    3 days ago

  • TVNZ is loss-making, serves no public service due to bias, and should be liquidated
    Rob MacCulloch writes –  According to the respected Pew Research Centre, “In seven of eight [European] countries surveyed, the most trusted news outlet asked about is the public news organization in each country”. For example, “in Sweden, an overwhelming majority (90%) say they trust the public broadcaster SVT”. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • The conflicted Covid Chair
    David Farrar writes –  Kata MacNamara reports:    Details of Tony Blakely’s involvement in the New Zealand Government’s response to the pandemic raise serious questions about the work of the Covid-19 Royal Commission of Inquiry over which he presides. It has long been clear that Blakely, a ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • Attacking the smartest and most resilient people in the room is never a good idea
    Chris Trotter writes – Are you a Brahmin or a Merchant? Or, are you merely one of those whose lives are profoundly influenced by the decisions of Brahmins and Merchants? Those are the questions that are currently shaping the politics of New Zealand and the entire West. ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    3 days ago

  • A fortune-telling failure, surely, if the tarot cards can’t see a bulldozer coming
    RNZ reports –  It’s supposed to be a haven of healing and spiritual awakening but residents of the Kawai Purapura community say they’ve been hurt and deceived. It’s the successor to the former Centrepoint commune, and has been on the bush block opposite Albany shopping centre since 2008. It ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    3 days ago

  • The climate battleground heats up
    TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa-NZ this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. Usually we have a video chat to go with this wrap, but were unable to do one this week. We’ll be back next week.Several reports ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Bernard’ s Dawn Chorus & Pick ‘n’ Mix for Tuesday, May 14
    The Transport Minister has set a hard 'fiscal envelope' of $6.54 billion for transport capital spending. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The economy is settling into a state of suspended animation as the Government’s funding freezes and job cuts chill confidence and combine with stubbornly high interest rates to ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    3 days ago

  • Gordon Campbell on why anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitic
    To be precise, the term “anti- Zionism” refers to (a) criticism of the political movement that created a modern Jewish state on the historical land of Israel, and to (b)the subjugation of Palestinians by the Israeli state. By contrast, the term “anti-Semitism” means bigotry and racism directed at Jewish people, ...
    Gordon CampbellBy lyndon
    3 days ago

  • Climate change is making hurricanes more destructive
    This is a re-post from the Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler Because hurricanes are one of the big-ticket weather disasters that humanity has to face, climate misinformers spend a lot of effort muddying the waters on whether climate change is making hurricanes more damaging. With the official start to the hurricane ...
    Skeptical Science
    3 days ago

  • Wayne Brown’s PT Plan
    Yesterday the Mayor released what he calls his “plan to save public transport” which is part of his final proposal for the Council’s Long Term Plan (LTP). This comes following consultation on the draft version that occurred in March which showed, once again, that people want more done on transport, especially ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    3 days ago

  • Potaka's Private Universe.
    And it's a pleasure that I have knownAnd it's a treasure that I have gainedAotearoa’s coalition government is fragile. It’s held together by the obsequious sycophancy of Christopher Luxon, who willingly contorts his party into the fringe positions of his junior coalition partners and is unwilling to contradict them. The ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    3 days ago

  • Our slow regional councils
    The Select Committee hearing submissions on the fast-track consenting legislation is starting to become a beat-up of regional councils. The inflexibility and slow workings of the Councils were prominent in two submissions yesterday. One, from the Coromandel Marine Farmers Association, simply said that the Waikato Regional Council’s planning decisions were ...
    PolitikBy Richard Harman
    3 days ago

  • Ministers are not above the law after all
    Back in April, the High Court surprised everyone by ruling that Ministers are above the law, at least as far as the Waitangi Tribunal is concerned. The reason for this ruling was "comity" - the idea that the different branches of government shouldn't interfere with each other's functions. Which makes ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • NZTA takes the wheel after govt gives it the road map for regional roads (and puts a speed governor ...
    Buzz from the Beehive  Tolling was mentioned when Transport Minister Simeon Brown announced the government was re-introducing the Roads of National Significance (RoNS) programme, with 15 “crucial” projects to support economic growth and regional development across New Zealand. All RoNS would be four-laned, grade-separated highways, and all funding, financing, and ...
    Point of OrderBy Bob Edlin
    4 days ago

  • Change in Catalonia?
    or the past 14 years, ever since the Spanish government cheated on an autonomy deal, Catalonia has reliably given pro-independence parties a majority of seats in their regional parliament. But now that seems to be over. Catalans went to the polls yesterday, and stripped the Catalan parties of their majority. ...
    No Right TurnBy Idiot/Savant
    4 days ago

  • Having an enrolment date is not depriving anyone of a vote
    David Farrar writes –  Radio NZ report: Labour Party leader Chris Hipkins said the Electoral Commission should make sure the system ran smoothly and “taking away the right of thousands of people to vote” was not the answer. “Thousands of people enroled and voted on the day. If ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Perhaps house prices don’t always go up
    Don Brash writes –  There was a rather revealing headline in the Herald on Sunday today (12 May). It read “One in 8 Auckland homes on market were bought during boom, may now sell for loss”. The first line of text noted that “New data shows one in ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Can’t read, can’t write, can’t comprehend – and won’t think…?
    Mike Grimshaw writes –  At a time when universities are understandably nervous regarding the establishment of the University Advisory Group (UAG) and the Science System Advisory Group (SSAG) it may seem strange – or even fool-hardy – to state that there are long-standing issues in the tertiary sector ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Time for some perspective
    Lindsay Mitchell writes –  A lack of perspective can make something quite large or important seem small or irrelevant. Against a backdrop of high-profile, negative statistics it is easy to overlook the positive. For instance, the fact that 64 percent of Maori are employed is rarely reported. For ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    4 days ago

  • Will NZ Herald’s ‘poor journalism’ cost lives?
    Earlier this year, the Herald ran a series of articles amounting to a sustained campaign against raised pedestrian crossings, by reporter Bernard Orsman. A key part of that campaign concerned the raised crossings being installed as part of the Pt Chevalier to Westmere project, with at least 10 articles over ...
    Greater AucklandBy Matt L
    4 days ago

  • The Kaka’s diary for the week to May 19 and beyond
    TL;DR: The six key events to watch in Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy in the week to May 19 include:PM Christopher Luxon is expected to hold his weekly post-cabinet news conference at 4:00pm on Monday.Parliament is not sitting this week. It resumes next week for a two-week sitting session up to and ...
    The KakaBy Bernard Hickey
    4 days ago

  • Webworm Popup Photos!
    Hi,Thanks to all the beautiful Worms who came to the LA Webworm popup on Saturday.It was a way to celebrate the online store we launched last week — and it was super special.As I talk about a lot, I really value our community here — and it was a BLAST ...
    David FarrierBy David Farrier
    4 days ago

  • 2024 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #19
    A listing of 35 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, May 5, 2024 thru Sat, May 11, 2024. (Unfortunate) Story of the week "Grief that stops at despair is an ending that I and many others, most notably ...
    Skeptical Science
    5 days ago

  • The Gods Must Be Woke.
    Last night the largest solar storm in decades resulted in Aurorae being seen across Aotearoa, causing many to ask why?Why was the sky pink? What was all this stuff about the power grid? Have we, as so many have wondered since the election, reached the end of days?I had a ...
    Nick’s KōreroBy Nick Rockel
    5 days ago

  • More road
    We have been on the road in England, squeezing down narrow lanes, flying up the M6, loving hedgerows and villages and cathedrals, liking the 21st century less.There have been moments when it’s felt like a movie trope. The pub in Exford, lovely seventeenth century bar, almost more dogs than people, ...
    More Than A FeildingBy David Slack
    5 days ago

  • Seeing the Aurora Australis
    There’s a solar-storm on at the moment, and since the South Island is having a day and night with clear skies, that means Aurorae. I have just got back from a midnight visit to Tunnel Beach – southwards-looking over the Sea, and without the light pollution. Quite a few others ...
    A Phuulish FellowBy strda221
    6 days ago

  • Welcome to the current welfare mess
    Michael Bassett writes – I’m not sure that it’s much comfort to anyone to know that the post-Covid surge in violent crimes, gang activity, ram raids, random shootings, thuggery and stabbings is occurring in other countries as well as New Zealand. These days, wagging school, out-of-control welfare and ...
    Point of OrderBy poonzteam5443
    6 days ago

  • District Court Judges appointed
    Attorney-General Judith Collins has announced the appointment of three new District Court Judges, to replace Judges who have recently retired. Peter James Davey of Auckland has been appointed a District Court Judge with a jury jurisdiction to be based at Whangarei. Mr Davey initially started work as a law clerk/solicitor with ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 hours ago

  • Unions should put learning ahead of ideology
    Associate Education Minister David Seymour is calling on the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) to put ideology to the side and focus on students’ learning, in reaction to the union holding paid teacher meetings across New Zealand about charter schools.     “The PPTA is disrupting schools up and down the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 hours ago

  • Craig Stobo appointed as chair of FMA
    Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly today announced the appointment of Craig Stobo as the new chair of the Financial Markets Authority (FMA). Mr Stobo takes over from Mark Todd, whose term expired at the end of April. Mr Stobo’s appointment is for a five-year term. “The FMA plays ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    3 hours ago

  • Budget 2024 invests in lifeguards and coastguard
    Surf Life Saving New Zealand and Coastguard New Zealand will continue to be able to keep people safe in, on, and around the water following a funding boost of $63.644 million over four years, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Associate Transport Minister Matt Doocey say. “Heading to the beach for ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    5 hours ago

  • New Zealand and Tuvalu reaffirm close relationship
    New Zealand and Tuvalu have reaffirmed their close relationship, Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says.  “New Zealand is committed to working with Tuvalu on a shared vision of resilience, prosperity and security, in close concert with Australia,” says Mr Peters, who last visited Tuvalu in 2019.  “It is my pleasure ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    21 hours ago

  • New Zealand calls for calm, constructive dialogue in New Caledonia
    New Zealand is gravely concerned about the situation in New Caledonia, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.  “The escalating situation and violent protests in Nouméa are of serious concern across the Pacific Islands region,” Mr Peters says.  “The immediate priority must be for all sides to take steps to de-escalate the ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    22 hours ago

  • New Zealand welcomes Samoa Head of State
    Prime Minister Christopher Luxon met today with Samoa’s O le Ao o le Malo, Afioga Tuimalealiifano Vaaletoa Sualauvi II, who is making a State Visit to New Zealand. “His Highness and I reflected on our two countries’ extensive community links, with Samoan–New Zealanders contributing to all areas of our national ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    23 hours ago

  • Island Direct eligible for SuperGold Card funding
    Transport Minister Simeon Brown has announced that he has approved Waiheke Island ferry operator Island Direct to be eligible for SuperGold Card funding, paving the way for a commercial agreement to bring the operator into the scheme. “Island Direct started operating in November 2023, offering an additional option for people ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Further sanctions against Russia
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters today announced further sanctions on 28 individuals and 14 entities providing military and strategic support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  “Russia is directly supported by its military-industrial complex in its illegal aggression against Ukraine, attacking its sovereignty and territorial integrity. New Zealand condemns all entities and ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • One year on from Loafers Lodge
    A year on from the tragedy at Loafers Lodge, the Government is working hard to improve building fire safety, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “I want to share my sincere condolences with the families and friends of the victims on the anniversary of the tragic fire at Loafers ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 day ago

  • Pre-Budget speech to Auckland Business Chamber
    Ka nui te mihi kia koutou. Kia ora and good afternoon, everyone. Thank you so much for having me here in the lead up to my Government’s first Budget. Before I get started can I acknowledge: Simon Bridges – Auckland Business Chamber CEO. Steve Jurkovich – Kiwibank CEO. Kids born ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • New Zealand and Vanuatu to deepen collaboration
    New Zealand and Vanuatu will enhance collaboration on issues of mutual interest, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “It is important to return to Port Vila this week with a broad, high-level political delegation which demonstrates our deep commitment to New Zealand’s relationship with Vanuatu,” Mr Peters says.    “This ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Penk travels to Peru for trade meetings
    Minister for Land Information, Chris Penk will travel to Peru this week to represent New Zealand at a meeting of trade ministers from the Asia-Pacific region on behalf of Trade Minister Todd McClay. The annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade meeting will be held on 17-18 May ...
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    2 days ago

  • Minister attends global education conferences
    Minister of Education Erica Stanford will head to the United Kingdom this week to participate in the 22nd Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM) and the 2024 Education World Forum (EWF). “I am looking forward to sharing this Government’s education priorities, such as introducing a knowledge-rich curriculum, implementing an evidence-based ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    2 days ago

  • Education Minister thanks outgoing NZQA Chair
    Minister of Education Erica Stanford has today thanked outgoing New Zealand Qualifications Authority Chair, Hon Tracey Martin. “Tracey Martin tendered her resignation late last month in order to take up a new role,” Ms Stanford says. Ms Martin will relinquish the role of Chair on 10 May and current Deputy ...
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    2 days ago

  • Joint statement of Christopher Luxon and Emmanuel Macron: Launch of the Christchurch Call Foundation
    New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and President Emmanuel Macron of France today announced a new non-governmental organisation, the Christchurch Call Foundation, to coordinate the Christchurch Call’s work to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online.   This change gives effect to the outcomes of the November 2023 Call Leaders’ Summit, ...
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    3 days ago

  • Panel announced for review into disability services
    Distinguished public servant and former diplomat Sir Maarten Wevers will lead the independent review into the disability support services administered by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. The review was announced by Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston a fortnight ago to examine what could be done to strengthen the ...
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    3 days ago

  • Minister welcomes Police gang unit
    Today’s announcement by Police Commissioner Andrew Coster of a National Gang Unit and district Gang Disruption Units will help deliver on the coalition Government’s pledge to restore law and order and crack down on criminal gangs, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says. “The National Gang Unit and Gang Disruption Units will ...
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    3 days ago

  • New Zealand expresses regret at North Korea’s aggressive rhetoric
    Foreign Minister Winston Peters has today expressed regret at North Korea’s aggressive rhetoric towards New Zealand and its international partners.  “New Zealand proudly stands with the international community in upholding the rules-based order through its monitoring and surveillance deployments, which it has been regularly doing alongside partners since 2018,” Mr ...
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    3 days ago

  • New Chief of Defence Force appointed
    Air Vice-Marshal Tony Davies MNZM is the new Chief of Defence Force, Defence Minister Judith Collins announced today. The Chief of Defence Force commands the Navy, Army and Air Force and is the principal military advisor to the Defence Minister and other Ministers with relevant portfolio responsibilities in the defence ...
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    3 days ago

  • Government puts children first by repealing 7AA
    Legislation to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act has been introduced to Parliament. The Bill’s introduction reaffirms the Coalition Government’s commitment to the safety of children in care, says Minister for Children, Karen Chhour. “While section 7AA was introduced with good intentions, it creates a conflict for Oranga ...
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    3 days ago

  • Defence Minister to meet counterparts in UK, Italy
    Defence Minister Judith Collins will this week travel to the UK and Italy to meet with her defence counterparts, and to attend Battles of Cassino commemorations. “I am humbled to be able to represent the New Zealand Government in Italy at the commemorations for the 80th anniversary of what was ...
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    3 days ago

  • Charter schools to lift educational outcomes
    The upcoming Budget will include funding for up to 50 charter schools to help lift declining educational performance, Associate Education Minister David Seymour announced today. $153 million in new funding will be provided over four years to establish and operate up to 15 new charter schools and convert 35 state ...
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    3 days ago

  • COVID-19 Inquiry terms of reference consultation results received
    “The results of the public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has now been received, with results indicating over 13,000 submissions were made from members of the public,” Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “We heard feedback about the extended lockdowns in ...
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    4 days ago

  • The Pacific family of nations – the changing security outlook
    Foreign Minister, Defence Minister, other Members of Parliament Acting Chief of Defence Force, Secretary of Defence Distinguished Guests  Defence and Diplomatic Colleagues  Ladies and Gentlemen,  Good afternoon, tēna koutou, apinun tru    It’s a pleasure to be back in Port Moresby today, and to speak here at the Kumul Leadership ...
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    4 days ago

  • NZ and Papua New Guinea to work more closely together
    Health, infrastructure, renewable energy, and stability are among the themes of the current visit to Papua New Guinea by a New Zealand political delegation, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.   “Papua New Guinea carries serious weight in the Pacific, and New Zealand deeply values our relationship with it,” Mr Peters ...
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    4 days ago

  • Driving ahead with Roads of Regional Significance
    The coalition Government is launching Roads of Regional Significance to sit alongside Roads of National Significance as part of its plan to deliver priority roading projects across the country, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says.  “The Roads of National Significance (RoNS) built by the previous National Government are some of New Zealand’s ...
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    4 days ago

  • New Zealand congratulates new Solomon Islands government
    A high-level New Zealand political delegation in Honiara today congratulated the new Government of Solomon Islands, led by Jeremiah Manele, on taking office.    “We are privileged to meet the new Prime Minister and members of his Cabinet during his government’s first ten days in office,” Deputy Prime Minister and ...
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    5 days ago

  • New Zealand supports UN Palestine resolution
    New Zealand voted in favour of a resolution broadening Palestine’s participation at the United Nations General Assembly overnight, Foreign Minister Winston Peters says.    “The resolution enhances the rights of Palestine to participate in the work of the UN General Assembly while stopping short of admitting Palestine as a full ...
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    6 days ago

  • Speech to the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium
    Introduction Good morning. It’s a great privilege to be here at the 2024 Infrastructure Symposium. I was extremely happy when the Prime Minister asked me to be his Minister for Infrastructure. It is one of the great barriers holding the New Zealand economy back from achieving its potential. Building high ...
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    7 days ago

  • $571 million for Defence pay and projects
    Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced the upcoming Budget will include new funding of $571 million for Defence Force pay and projects. “Our servicemen and women do New Zealand proud throughout the world and this funding will help ensure we retain their services and expertise as we navigate an increasingly ...
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    1 week ago

  • Climate change – mitigating the risks and costs
    New Zealand’s ability to cope with climate change will be strengthened as part of the Government’s focus to build resilience as we rebuild the economy, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “An enduring and long-term approach is needed to provide New Zealanders and the economy with certainty as the climate ...
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    1 week ago

  • Getting new job seekers on the pathway to work
    Jobseeker beneficiaries who have work obligations must now meet with MSD within two weeks of their benefit starting to determine their next step towards finding a job, Social Development and Employment Minister Louise Upston says. “A key part of the coalition Government’s plan to have 50,000 fewer people on Jobseeker ...
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    1 week ago

  • Accelerating Social Investment
    A new standalone Social Investment Agency will power-up the social investment approach, driving positive change for our most vulnerable New Zealanders, Social Investment Minister Nicola Willis says.  “Despite the Government currently investing more than $70 billion every year into social services, we are not seeing the outcomes we want for ...
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    1 week ago

  • Getting Back on Track
    Check against delivery Good morning. It is a pleasure to be with you to outline the Coalition Government’s approach to our first Budget. Thank you Mark Skelly, President of the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce, together with  your Board and team, for hosting me.   I’d like to acknowledge His Worship ...
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    1 week ago

  • NZ – European Union ties more critical than ever
    Your Excellency Ambassador Meredith,   Members of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassadors from European Union Member States,   Ministerial colleagues, Members of Parliament, and other distinguished guests, Thank you everyone for joining us.   Ladies and gentlemen -    In diplomacy, we often speak of ‘close’ and ‘long-standing’ relations.   ...
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    1 week ago

  • Therapeutic Products Act to be repealed
    The Therapeutic Products Act (TPA) will be repealed this year so that a better regime can be put in place to provide New Zealanders safe and timely access to medicines, medical devices and health products, Associate Health Minister Casey Costello announced today. “The medicines and products we are talking about ...
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    1 week ago

  • Decisions on Wellington City Council’s District Plan
    The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop, today released his decision on twenty recommendations referred to him by the Wellington City Council relating to its Intensification Planning Instrument, after the Council rejected those recommendations of the Independent Hearings Panel and made alternative recommendations. “Wellington notified its District Plan on ...
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    1 week ago

  • Rape Awareness Week: Government committed to action on sexual violence
    Rape Awareness Week (6-10 May) is an important opportunity to acknowledge the continued effort required by government and communities to ensure that all New Zealanders can live free from violence, say Ministers Karen Chhour and Louise Upston.  “With 1 in 3 women and 1 in 8 men experiencing sexual violence ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

  • Smarter lunch programme feeds more, costs less
    Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that the Government will be delivering a more efficient Healthy School Lunches Programme, saving taxpayers approximately $107 million a year compared to how Labour funded it, by embracing innovation and commercial expertise. “We are delivering on our commitment to treat taxpayers’ money ...
    BeehiveBy beehive.govt.nz
    1 week ago

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